those first translators, having in the Old Testament out of the Hebrew translated the words cahal hadath, and such other for "the congregation" (where the papists will not translate "the church," although their Latin text be ecclesia, as appeareth Acts vii., where they call it "assembly"), thought good to retain the word "congregation" throughout the New Testament also, lest it might be thought of the ignorant, that God had no church in the time of the Old Testament. Howsoever it

was, they departed neither from the word nor meaning of the Holy Ghost, nor from the usage of that word ecclesia, which in the scripture signifieth as generally any assembly, as the word "congregation" doth in English.

MARTIN, 1.

FULKE, 1.

MARTIN, 2.

CHAPTER VI.

Heretical Translation against Priest and Priesthood.

Martin. BUT because it may be, they will stand here upon their later translations which have the name church," (because by that time they saw the absurdity of changing the name, and now their number was increased, and themselves began to challenge to be the true church, though not the catholic; and for former times when they were not, they devised an invisible church;) if then they will stand upon their later translations, and refuse to justify the former; let us demand of them concerning all their English translations, why and to what end they suppress the name "priest," translating it "elder" in all places where the holy scripture would signify by presbyter and presbyterium the "priests" and "priesthood" of the New Testament ?

Fulke. If any error have escaped the former translations, that hath been reformed in the later, all reasonable men ought to be satisfied with our own corrections. But because we are not charged with oversights and small faults committed either of ignorance or of negligence, but with shameless translations, wilful and heretical corruptions, we may not acknowledge any such crimes whereof our conscience is clear. That we "devised an invisible church," because we were few in number, when our translations were first printed, it is a lewd slander. For being multiplied, as we are, (God be thanked!) we hold still that the catholic church, which is the mother of us all, is invisible, and that the church on earth may at some times be driven into such straits, as of the wicked it shall not be known. And this we held

always, and not otherwise. Now touching the word presbyter and presbyterium, why we translate them not “priest and priesthood of the New Testament," we have given sufficient reason before but because we are here urged afresh, we must answer as occasion shall be offered.

Martin. Understand, gentle reader, their wily policy therein is this: to take away the holy sacrifice of the mass, they take away both altar and priest; because they know right well that these three, priest, sacrifice, and altar, are dependents and consequents one of another, so that they cannot be separated. If there be an external sacrifice, there must be an external priesthood to offer it, an altar to offer the same upon.

So had the Gentiles their sacrifices, priests, and altars; so had the Jews; so Christ himself, being a priest according to the order of Melchisedec, had a sacrifice, his body; and an altar, his cross, upon the which he offered it. And because he instituted this sacrifice to continue in his church for ever, in commemoration and representation of his death, therefore did he withal ordain his apostles priests at his last supper, there and then instituted the holy order of priesthood and priests (saying, Hoc facite, "Do this,”) to offer the self-same sacrifice in a mystical and Luke xxii. unbloody manner, until the world's end.

19.

Fulke. In denying the blasphemous sacrifice of the FULKE, 2. popish mass, with the altar and priesthood that thereto belongeth, we use no wily policy, but with open mouth at all times, and in all places, we cry out upon it. The sacrifices, priests, and altars of the gentiles were abominable. The sacrifices of the Jews, their priests, and altars, are all accomplished and finished in the only sacrifice of Christ, our high priest, offered once for all upon the altar of the cross: which Christ our Saviour, seeing he is a priest according to the order of Melchisedec, hath an eternal priesthood, and such as passeth not by succession, Heb. vii. Therefore did not Christ at his last supper institute any external external propitiatory sacrifice of his body and blood, but a sacrament, joined with the spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving ; which sacrament being administered by the ministers thereto appointed, the sacrifice is common to the whole church of the faithful, who are all spiritual priests, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, as much as the minister of the word and sacraments.

Martin. To defeat all this, and to take away all external priesthood MARTIN, 2. and sacrifice, they by corrupt translation of the holy scriptures make them clean dumb, as though they had not a word of any such priests, or priesthood, as we speak of. Their bibles, we grant, have the name of priests very often, but that is when mention is made either of the priests of the Jews, or of the priests of the Gentiles (specially when they are reprehended and blamed in the holy scriptures); and in such places our adversaries have the name "priests" in their translations, to make the very name of "priest" odious among the common ignorant people. Again, they have also the name "priests," when they are taken for all manner of men, women, or children, that offer internal and spiritual sacrifices; whereby our adversaries would falsely signify that there are no other priests, as one of them late freshly avoucheth, directly Whitaker's, against St Augustine, who in one brief sentence distinguisheth priests P. 199.

[FULKE.]

16

See the Puritans' Reply, p. 159, and Whitgift's Defence against the Puritans, p. 722.

FULKE, 3.

properly so called in the church, and priests as it is a common name to all Christians. Lib. xx. de Civit. Dei, cap. 10.1 This name then of "priest" and "priesthood" properly so called, as St Augustine saith, which is an order distinct from the laity and vulgar people, ordained to offer Christ in an unbloody manner in sacrifice to his heavenly Father for us, to preach and minister the sacraments, and to be the pastors of the people, they wholly suppress in their translations; and in all places where the holy scripture calleth them presbyteros, there they never translate "priests," but "elders." And that they do observe so duly and so warily, and with so full and general consent in all their English bibles, as the puritans do plainly confess, and M. Whitgift denieth it not, that a man would wonder to see, how careful they are that the people may not once hear the name of any such "priest "in all the holy scriptures.

Fulke. Now you have gotten a fine net to dance naked in, that no ignorant blind buzzard can see you. The masks of your net be the ambiguous and abusive significations of this word "priest"; which indeed, according to the original derivation from presbyter, should signify nothing else but an "elder," as we translate it, that is, one appointed to govern the church of God according to his word, but not to offer sacrifice for the quick and the dead. But by usurpation it is commonly taken to signify a sacrificer, such as iepevs is in Greek, and sacerdos in Latin; by which names the ministers of the gospel are never called by the Holy Ghost. After this common acceptation and use of this word "priest," we call the sacrificers of the Old Testament, and of the gentiles also, because the scripture calleth them by one name, cohanin, or iepeis: but because the scripture calleth the ministers of the New Testament by divers other names, and never by the name of iepeis, we thought it necessary to observe that distinction which we see the Holy Ghost so precisely hath observed. Therefore, where the scripture calleth them TрEO BUTÉρOUS, we call them, according to the etymology, "elders," and not priests: which word is taken up by common usurpation to signify sacrificers of Jews, gentiles, or papists,

[Quod autem cum dixisset, In istis secunda mors non habet potestatem; adjunxit atque ait, Sed erunt sacerdotes Dei et Christi, et regnabunt cum eo mille annis: non utique de solis episcopis et presbyteris dictum est, qui proprie jam vocantur in ecclesia sacerdotes; sed sicut omnes Christianos dicimus propter mysticum chrisma, sic omnes sacerdotes, quoniam membra sunt unius Sacerdotis. Augustin. de Civitat. Dei. Lib. xx. c. 10. Opera. Vol. VI. p. 944.]

or else all Christians in respect of spiritual sacrifices.

And

although Augustine, and other of the ancient fathers, call the ministers of the New Testament by the name of sacerdotes, and iepeis, which signify the ministers of the Old Testament; yet the authority of the Holy Ghost, making a perfect distinction between these two appellations and functions, ought to be of more estimation with us. The fathers were content to speak in Latin and Greek, as the terms were taken up by the common people newly converted from gentility; but yet they retained the difference of the sacrificing priesthood of the one, and the ministerial office of the other. This may suffice therefore to render a reason, why we use not the word "priest" for "ministers" of the New Testament: not that we refuse it in respect of the etymology, but in respect of the use and common signification thereof.

Martin. As for example in their translations, when there fell a MARTIN, 4. question about circumcision, "They determined that Paul and Barnabas πρeoßʊtéshould go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this Presbyteros. question." Acts xv. And again, "They were received of the congrega

[* In Acts xv. 4, τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων is rendered, in the Vulgate, "ab apostolis et senioribus:" also, in verses 20, 22, 23. In verse 41, seniorum is used, though there is not any corresponding clause in the Greek. See also chap. xvi. 4.

πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ πρεσβυτέρους, Acts xv. 2, is rendered thus in the different versions: "To the apostolis and preestis,” Wiclif, 1380. "To the apostles and elders," Tyndale, Cranmer, Geneva, and Authorised.

ἀπεδέχθησαν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν πρεσBuτépwv. Acts xv. 4. "They werun resceyued of the chirche, and of the apostlis, and of the elder men," Wiclif. "They were received of the congregation, and of the apostles and elders," Tyndale, Cranmer. "They were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders," Geneva version, and Authorised.

Συνήχθησαν δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι. Acts xv. 6. "And the apostlis and elder men camen 'togidre," Wiclif. "And the apostles and elders came together," Tyndale, Cranmer, Geneva, Authorised. "And the apostles and ancients assembled," Rhemish version.

*

Τότε ἔδοξε τοῖς ἀποστόλοις καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις σὺν ὅλῃ τῇ ἐκAnoia. Acts xv. 22. "Thanne it plesid to the apostles and to the elder men with alle the chirche," Wiclif. "Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole congregation," Tyndale, Cranmer. "Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church," Geneva, Authorised version.

Οἱ

ρους.