of temporal promotion, the medicine of humility might work a more sincere and effectual cure in him. But in such cases as these, when by reason of great dissentions and schisms, it was not one or two single persons that were in danger, but whole multitudes that lay prostrate and slain, then something was to be abated of the strict severity of discipline, that charity might come in to assist in the cure of greater evils."

I have transcribed this whole passage of St. Austin, to shew, both what was the ordinary strictness of the Church's discipline in this case, and what those reasons were that sometime oblige her to alter her measures upon extraordinary occasions. By which it appears, that notwithstanding such dispensations upon great exigencies, her ordinary and standing method was to reduce heretics, and schismatics, and other delinquent clerks to the state and communion of laymen.

SECT. 11.-The Decrees of Pope Innocent.

For the practice of the Church of Rome, we have the testimony of Pope Innocent, who was cotemporary with St. Austin. For we have heard him declare before, in the last chapter, sect. 8, that it was the constant custom of the Roman Church, to receive those that came over from heretics only to lay-communion by imposition of hands, but not to allow them the least honour of clerical promotion.

SECT. 12-And Siricius.

Pope Siricius mentions the same discipline, as exercised upon all such clerks as had, against canon, either married a widow, or a second wife : " they were to be deprived of all ecclesiastical dignity, and only admitted to lay-communion." And St. Jerom says the same of heretical bishops, in his Dialogue against the Luciferians, cap. vii.

'Siric. Ep. i. ad Himerium Tarracon. c. ii. Quisquis sanè clericus aut viduam, aut certè secundam conjugem duxerit, omni ecclesiasticæ dignitatis privilegio mox nudetur, laicâ sibi tantùm communione concessâ.

SECT. 18.-And St. Basil.

Among the Canons of St. Basil, there is one to the same purpose, "that such clerks as committed mortal sin should be degraded, or deposed from their order, but be still allowed to communicate as laymen: because except in some special cases, a clerk was not to be punished doubly for the same fault," that is, both by deposition and excommunication.

SECT. 14. And the Council of Trullo.

All this is confirmed by a canon of the Council of Trullo, which says, when delinquent clerks are degraded by a complete and perpetual deposition, they are then “ thrust down to the place of laymen." So that we have as good proof of the discipline of the Church, upon this head, as need be required.

Now then, upon the whole matter, let any impartial man judge of the sense and practice of the ancient Church, in reference to the admission of such baptisms, as were given in due form by unauthorised laymen. If the Church had no other opinion of heretics, and schismatics, and degraded clerks, but as of unauthorised laymen; and yet admitted the baptisms of all such so far, as not to repeat them again by rebaptisation: does it not plainly follow, that she admitted the baptisms of those who, in her opinion, were only unauthorised laymen? If any one says, they were reduced to lay-communion, but yet were authorised priests, and not laymen, he must first answer Cyprian, and all the other bishops of the world, who say, in the plainest terms, that they are not priests, but laymen; not like laymen, but really so. And then he must shew likewise, how a man can be said to have the authority of a priest, when God and Christ and the best authority in the Church have taken away his authority from him. And when this is done, there

'Basil. can. xxii. Οἱ τὴν πρὸς θάνατον ἁμαρτιάν ἁμαρτανοντες κληρικοὶ, τῷ βαθμῦ μὲν κατάγονται, τῆς κοινωνίας δὲ τῶν λαϊκῶν ἐκ ἐξείργονται. Οὐ γὰρ ἐκδικήσεις δὶς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. 2 Con. Trull. can. 21. 'Ev r TÜV

λαϊκῶν ἀπωθέμενοι τόπῳ.

will remain another difficulty behind, how a man can be said to be an authorised priest, who is not a complete and perfect laymen: as no heretic, or schismatic, or degraded clerk, after they are anathematised for their obstinacy, can be said to be for they are then not only reduced to the communion of laymen, but sunk one degree below laymen, by being excommunicate or cast out of the Church. For no man is a complete laymen, but he that is in full communion with the Church; which heretics, and schismatics, and degraded clerks are not, after excommunication is once added to their deprivation, as it sometimes was when they persisted obstinate and contumacious against the discipline of the Church, of which I shall give a more distinct and full account in the following chapter.

CHAP. V.

Argument IV. That Heretics, and Schismatics, and degraded Clerks, were not accounted authorised Priests, because they were sometimes thrust down one degree below Laymen, by being anathematised and cast out of the Communion of the Church.

SECT. 1. That no Man is reckoned a complete Layman but he that is in full Communion with the Church.

ALL that has been said in the last chapter of heretics, and schismatics, and degraded clerks being reduced to the communion of laymen, goes upon supposition of their being penitent, and that they quietly submitted to the Church's discipline, when they were corrected for their faults: for, in that case, the Church, in her punishments, showed them some favour, when they did not add obstinacy and rebellion to their other crimes. She thought it enough to punish ordinary crimes in penitent clerks by the single punishment of degradation from their orders, and reduction of them to lay-communion, and did not proceed to the utmost severity

of excommunication with them; unless for some higher crimes of a more malignant nature, or unless they proved refractory and contumacious against her censures. There are some ancient Canons which give particular direction about this matter, that a delinquent clerk should not be punished twice for the same fault, in ordinary cases, that is, he should not both be degraded, and cast out of lay-communion also. But then, this was upon supposition, that he submitted quietly to the Church's censure, and that his crimes also were not of such a nature as to require a more severe judgment and condemnation. For otherwise both these punishments might be indicted on him: he might not only be deprived of clerical communion, but of lay-communion also; and at the same time that he was cast out of orders, be cast out of the Church, and be cut off entirely from all communion whatsoever. And this was sinking him one degree below a layman: for no man was accounted a complete layman, but he that was in full communion with the Church, and had a right to participate with the faithful in all holy offices, and particularly the holy eucharist, or oblation, which was To Tλuov, the consummation of all, and that which made a man a perfect and complete Christian. For without this a man was only an imperfect Christian, and in an incomplete state, and scarce to be reckoned of as a perfect and proper member of the Church. Upon this account all catechumens were reckoned but imperfect members of the Church, though they had in a large sense the name of Christians, because, while they remained unbaptised, they had no right to the full communion of the faithful. In like manner all excommunicate persons were at most but incomplete Christians, by being cut off from the communion of the Church: they were but a sort of dead members, till they revived again by repentance, and were restored by virtue of the right which baptism gives them to be admitted to communion again upon confession and satisfaction. And in this state, all such hereties, and schismatics, and degraded clerks were supposed to be, who underwent a double punishment, and had excom

Can. Apost. c. xxv. al. xviii. Basil. Epist. Canon. c. xxxii.

munication added to their deposition. They were, by this means, shut out of the Church, and denied the privilege even of lay-communion. So that they were not so much as complete and perfect laymen, but one degree lower than laymen, having lost their present right to full communion, and retaining little more besides their baptism to entitle them to the name of Christians. It is not easy to conceive then, how they should be esteemed true authorised priests. by the Church, whom she herself excluded from the privilege of true complete Christian laymen.

SECT. 2.-Heretics, and Schismatics, and degraded Clerks, sometimes denied also the Privilege of Lay-communion.

But now that the Church did many times exercise this double censure, and inflict both the punishment of deposition and excommunication upon them, will be no hard matter to be made appear. For, not to mention, now, how of ten heretics are laid under anathema by the six general Councils, of which I have given a full account in the first chapter of this Book; nor how unanimously all the Ancients declare all heretics and schismatics to be out of the true and perfect communion of the Holy Catholic Church; nor how often heretics are said to be no Christians, no Church, nor members of the Church, meaning thereby Christians in the adequate sense, and persons in full communion with the Church; I say, not to insist upon any thing of this, at present, it will be sufficient to show, that heretics and schismatics, and degraded clerks, were sometimes, after their deposition, also formally excommunicated by the Church, and denied even the communion of laymen.

SECT. 3. This proved from the Testimony of Cyprian.

This is evident from what Cyprian says of Evaristus, one of the three bishops that pretended to ordain Novatian,' “that for his crime he was so far degraded, as of a bishop not to be suffered to continue in the state and quality of a

1 Cypr. Ep. 49. al. 52. ad Cornel. p. 96. Didicimus Evaristum de episcopo jam nec laicum remansisse, cathedræ et plebis extorrem, et de Ecclesia Christi exsulem.