Notwithstanding this also may be alleged in some part of their excuse too, that they were not the first authors of this corruption of the canon, that blame must light either upon Isidorus Mercator (the crafty merchant, with whose dealings I acquainted you before") or upon James Merlin, the popish doctor, who first caused his collection of decrees to be printed. But friar Crabbe deserveth no excuse at all who having store of good copies to direct him, did not only content himself with the retaining of angulos in the text of Isidorus, as he found it printed before him, but plucked out angelos and chopped in angulos into the old translation of Dionysius Exiguus also, which afforded no room for any such corners as these. For howsoever in that version, or perversion rather of the canon which is extant in the text of Isidorus, it might stand with some reason to read: "Non oportet Christianos, derelicta Ecclesia, abire et ad angulos idololatriæ abominandæ congregationes facere; It is not lawful for Christians, forsaking the Church, to go and make assemblies of abominable idolatry in corners." Yet in the old translation of Dionysius, where the canon was rightly rendered: "Quod non oporteat Ecclesiam Dei relinquere, et abire, atque angelos nominare, et congregationes facere:" it was contrary to all sense to thrust this reading upon us : "It is not lawful for Christians to forsake the Church of God, and go and nominate or invocate CORNERS," a wise speech no doubt, "and make meetings." But, veritas non quærit angulos: the truth will admit none of these corners. For the Greek verity (as well in all the editions of the canons that have come forth by themselves, as in the collections of Harmenopolus, Zo-' naras and Balsamon likewise) expressly readeth ȧyytλovs, which in that tongue hath no affinity at all with corners: and the ancient collectors of the canons among the Latins, w Supra, pag. 19. x Tom. 1. concil. edit. Colon. anno 1530. et Paris. ann. 1535. y Tom. 1. concil. edit. Colon. ann. 1538. Cresconius and Dionysius and Fulgentius Ferrandusa, have angelos: and Theodoret in his exposition of the epistle to the Colossians, doth twice make mention and declare the meaning of this canon. Once, upon those words of the apostle in the third chapter: "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." For "because they commanded men to worship angels," saith Theodoret," he enjoineth the contrary, that they should adorn their words and their deeds with the commemoration of our Lord Christ; and send up thanksgiving to God and the Father by him, saith he, and not by the angels. The synod of Laodicea also following this rule, and desiring to heal that old disease, made a law that they should not pray unto angels, nor forsake our Lord Jesus Christ." And again, upon the second chapter of the same epistle: "This vice continued in Phrygia and Pisidia for a long time; for which cause also the synod assembled in Laodicea the chief city in Phrygia, forbad them by a law to pray unto angels. And even to this day among them and their borderers, there are oratories of St. Michael to be seen." The like hath Oecumenius after him upon the same place: "This custom * De his qui angelos colunt. Crescon. breviar. canon. sect. 90. Dionys. exig. in codice canon. num. 138. a Ut nullus ad angelos congregationem faciat. Fulgent. Ferrand. breviat. canon. sect. 184. 5 ̓Επειδὴ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τοὺς ἀγγέλους σέβειν ἐκέλευον, αὐτὸς τὸ ἐναντίον παρεγγυᾷ, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰ ἔργα κοσμῆσαι τῇ μνήμῃ τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ· καὶ τῷ θεῷ δὲ καὶ πατρὶ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν δι' αὐτοῦ φησιν ἀναπέμπετε, μὴ διὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων. Τούτῳ ἑπομένη τῷ νόμῳ καὶ ἡ ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ σύνοδος καὶ τὸ παλαιὸν ἐκεῖνο πάθος θεραπεῦσαι βουλομένη, ἐνομοθέτησε μὴ εὔχεσθαι ἀγγέλοις, μηδὲ καταλιμπάνειν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν. Theodoret. in Coloss. cap. 3. • Εμεινε δὲ τοῦτο τὸ πάθος ἐν τῇ Φρυγίᾳ καὶ Πισιδίᾳ μέχρι πολλοῦ· οὗ δὴ χάριν καὶ ἡ συνελθοῦσα σύνοδος ἐν Λαοδικεία τῆς Φρυγίας, νόμῳ κεκώλυκε τὸ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις προσεύχεσθαι· καὶ μέχρι δὲ τοῦ νῦν εὐκτήρια τοῦ ἁγίου Μιχαὴλ παρ' ἐκείνοις καὶ τοῖς ὁμόροις ἐκείνων ἐστὶν ἰδείν. Id. in Col. cap. 2. d Εμεινε δὲ τοῦ τὸ κατὰ Φρυγίαν τὸ ἔθος· ὡς καὶ τὴν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ σύνοδον νόμῳ κωλύσαι τὸ προσίεναι ἀγγέλοις καὶ προσεύχεσθαι· ἀφ' οὗ καὶ ναοὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου Μιχαὴλ πολλοί, Oecumen. MS. continued in Phrygia: insomuch that the council of Laodicea did by a law forbid to come unto angels, and to pray unto them; from whence it is also, that there be many churches of Michael, the chief captain of God's host, among them." This canon of the Laodicean fathers, Photius doth note to have been made against the Angelites, or the Angelics rather. For so doth St. Augustine name those heretics that were "inclined to the worship of angels:" being from thence called Angelici, as Isidorus noteth, "because they did worship angels." To transcribe here at large the several testimonies of the fathers, which condemn this worshipping of angels or any other creature whatsoever, would be an endless work. Gregory Nyssen, in the beginning of his fourth (or fifth book rather) against Eunomius, layeth this down for an undoubted principle: "That none of those things which have their being by creation is to be worshipped by men, the word of God hath by law ordained; as almost out of all the holy Scriptures we may learn. Moses, the tables, the law, the prophets afterward, the Gospels, the determinations of all the apostles, do equally forbid the looking unto the creature." Then having shewed that the neglect of this was the cause of the bringing in of a multitude of gods among the Heathen: "lest the same things should happen unto us," saith he, "who are instructed by the in Coloss. cap. 2. ab Hoeschelio citatus in notis ad Origenis libros contra Cels. pag. 483. e Пepì'Ayyeλırwv. Phot. Nomocanen. tit. 12. cap. 9. Angelici, in angelorum cultu inclinati. August. de hæres. cap. 39. ἡ Οὐδὲν τῶν διὰ κτίσεως γεγονότων σεβάσμιον εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ὁ θεῖος ἐνομοθέτησε λόγος· ὡς ἐκ πάσης μικροῦ δεῖν ἐστὶ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς τὸ τοιοῦτο μαθεῖν. ὁ Μωϋσῆς, αἱ πλάκες, ὁ νόμος, οἱ καθεξῆς προφῆ ται, τὰ εὐαγγέλια, τῶν ἀποστόλων τὰ δόγματα πάντων, ἐπίσης ἀπαγορεύOVσι TÒ πρÒS Tỷv kríoiv BXéπev. Greg. Nyssen. contr. Eunom. orat. 4. op. tom. 2. pag. 572. · Ως ἂν οὖν μὴ ταυτὰ πάθοιμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ πρὸς τὴν ἀληθινὴν θεότητα βλέπειν παρὰ τῆς γραφῆς διδασκόμενοι, πᾶν τὸ κτιστὸν ἔξω τῆς θείας φύσεως νοεῖν ἐπαιδεύθημεν, μόνην δὲ τὴν ἄκτιστον φύσιν λατρεύειν τε καὶ σεβάζεσθαι, ἧς χαρακτήρ ἐστι καὶ γνώρισμα, τὸ μήτε ἄρχεσθαι τοῦ εἶναί ποτε μήτε παύεσθαι εἶναι. Id. ibid. pag. 574. Scripture to look unto the true Deity; we are taught to understand that whatsoever is created is a different thing from the Divine nature, and that we are to worship and adore that nature only which is uncreated, whose character and mark is, that it neither at any time began to be nor ever shall cease to be." But our Romanists have long since overthrown this principle: and so altered Moses, and the tables, and the law, that of the four-andtwenty mortal sins, whereby they say the first commandment is broken, they reckon the first to be committed by him, Qui colit extra Deum vel sanctos quodque creatum, who worshippeth any created thing beside God and the saints." And whereas Antonius' in his Melissa had set down the aforesaid sentence of Nyssen, that " we have learned to worship and adore that nature ONLY which is uncreated:" the Spanish inquisitors have taken order, that a piece of his tongue should be cut off; and given commandment, that "them word ONLY should be blotted" out of his writing; not considering that this was the principal word, upon which the whole sentence of Nyssen mainly did depend, and that Nyssen was not the ouly man that had taught us this lesson. Athanasius before him had used the very same argument against the Arians, to prove that the Son of God was of an uncreated nature. For "Peter" the apostle," saith he, "did forbid Cornelius, when he would have Hieronym. Zanetinus, de foro conscientiæ et contentioso, sect. 168. 1 Anton. Meliss. lib. 1. serm. 1. m Deleatur dictio, SOLUMMODO. Index expurgator. Gasp. Quiroga cardinalis jussu editus; de consilio supremi senatus generalis inquisit. Madrit. ann. 1584. - Πέτρος μὲν οὖν ὁ ἀπόστολος, προσκυνῆσαι θέλοντα τὸν Κορνήλιον, κωλύει λέγων, ὅτι κᾀγὼ ἄνθρωπός εἰμι· ἄγγελος δὲ θέλοντα προσκυνῆσαι τὸν ̓Ιωάννην ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει, κωλύει λέγων, &c. Οὐκοῦν, Θεοῦ ἐστι μόνου τὸ προσκυνεῖσθαι· καὶ τοῦτο ἴσασι καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι· ὅτι καν τῶν ἄλλων ταῖς δόξαις ὑπερέχωσιν, ἀλλὰ κτίσματα πάντες εἰσὶ καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶ τῶν προσκυνουμένων, ἀλλὰ τῶν προσκυνούντων τὸν δεσπότην. Athanas. orat. 2. contra Arrian. op. tom. 1. pag. 491. worshipped him, saying: Because I myself also am a mano. The angel also did forbid John, when he would have worshipped him in the Revelation, saying: See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God". Wherefore it appertaineth to God only to be worshipped. And this do the angels themselves know well, that although they do surpass others in glory, yet they are all but creatures; and are in the number, not of those that are to be adored, but of them that adore the Lord." So we have heard St. Ambrose before", reprehending those that do adore their fellow-servants. And Epiphanius refuting the heresy of the Collyridians, concludeth, that "neither Elias nor John, nor Thecla, nor any of the saints is to be worshipped. For that ancient error," saith he, "shall not prevail over us, to forsake the living GOD, and to worship the things that are made by him. For they served and worshipped the creature above the Creator, and became fools. For if he will not have the angels to be worshipped; how much more would he not have her that was born of Anna. Lets Mary then be had in honour, but let the Lord be worshipped." Lastly, St. Augustine, to omit all others, in the book which he wrote of true religion, delivereth this for one of the main grounds thereof: that "the worshipping of men that are dead should be no part of our religion, because," saith he, "if they did live piously, they are not held to be such as Act. chap. 10. ver. 26. ¶ Ambros. in Rom. cap. 1. supra, pag. 459. Revel. chap. 22. ver. 9. * ̓Αλλ ̓ οὔτε Ηλίας προσκυνητὸς, καίπερ ἐν ζῶσιν ὢν, οὔτε Ιωάννης προσκυνητὸς, &c. ἀλλ ̓ οὔτε ἡ Θέκλα, οὔτε τις τῶν ἁγίων προσκυνεῖται. Οὐ γὰρ κυριεύσει ἡμῶν ἡ ἀρχαία πλάνη, καταλιμπάνειν τὸν ζῶντα καὶ προσκυνεῖν τὰ ὑπ ̓ αὐτοῦ γεγονότα· ἐλάτρευσαν γὰρ καὶ ἐσεβάσθησαν τῷ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, καὶ ἐμωράνθησαν. Εἰ γὰρ ἀγγέλους προσκυνεῖσθαι οὐ θέλει, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὴν ἀπὸ ̓Αννης γεγεννημένην; Epiphan. hæres, 79. op. tom. 1. pag. 1062. * Η Μαρία ἐν τιμῇ, ὁ Κύριος προσκυνείσθω. Id. ibid. pag. 1064. 1 Non sit nobis religio cultus hominum mortuorum: qui si pie vixerunt, non sic habentur ut tales quærant honores; sed illum a nobis coli volunt, quo illuminante lætantur meriti sui nos esse consortes. Honorandi ergo sunt propter imitationem, non adorandi propter religionem. cap. 55. op. tom. 1. pag. 786. Augustin. de vera religion. |