but never by Invocation. And I appeal to your Lordship, whether you have the leaft Reason to believe, that even fo late as the Council of Nice, any Chriftian ventur'd to Invocate the Bleffed Spirit of God. For I own, the firft Inftance I have obferv'd, is about 30 Years later than that Council. But as to the most Concerning Part of your Lordship's Letter, about the Conftitutions of the Apostles, I muft beg your LordThip's Pardon, if I fpeak my Mind more freely. Your Lordship makes a few, and most of them wholly ungrounded Objections against them; as never having, I perceive, particularly and fairly examin'd upon what Authority they ftand, nor what Parts are genuine, and what interpolated by the Orthodox. (For they only have been fo wicked: And from their Interpolations of the Original Doxologies of the Church, does one of your Lordship's Arguments proceed for the Invocation of the Holy Ghoft.) As to my felf, I have been for feveral Months, with the Affiftance of a Learned Friend, examining that Matter to the bottom, and have an Effay upon them ready for the Publick: Whereby it will appear, That, for the Main, they are certainly Genuine and Apoftolical; That they are deriv'd from a Second Council of the Apoftles at ferufalem,about the Beginning of A. D. 64. That they were written at the Command of the Apoftles themselves, by St. Clement; That he put his laft Hand to them about A. D. 86. ; That Three feveral Pieces, really Apoftolical, are inferted into the Sixth Book: That they were by St. Clement fent to the. Nineteen Bishops of fo many Apoftolical Churches, as the Secret and Sacred Rule of the Faith, Worship, and Difcipline of the Chriftian Church, to be tranfmitted to all future Generations That accordingly this Book was (d2)

all

,

all along own'd and cited as fuch in all the fucceeding Ages, till the Eleventh Century; when the Pope, or his Legate, difcarded it; and, in all probability, forg'd a Paffage in the Sixth General Council, as if it had been interpolated by Hereticks: That the Citations, Allufions, or Atteftations in the Four first Centuries, amount to Three or Four Hundred at the leaft: That Athanafius, that grand Corrupter of the Chriftian Faith, cheated the poor Ethiopians with a miferable Extract out of it, and gave it them as the Real Original Conftitutions themselves; which, till this Day, they believe it to be: That when the Churches Faith and Worship were alter'd, these Secret Conftitutions were made publick to all, after the Middle of the Fourth Century: That after a little Examination, they were by all own'd to be really Apoftolical, and to be really written by St. Clement: That they are, and ever were, in the Original Canon of the Sacred Books of the New Teftament; and were anciently ever esteem'd of equal Authority with the rest of them: That the Church of Rome, and the Weft, corrupted its Copy in feveral Points against the Arians, and to fupport her own Novel Decrees; while Epiphanius, and all the Eastern Churches, preferv'd the true and Original Reading: That almost all your Lordfhip's Objections against it, are taken from thofe Places interpolated in the Weft, or at Alexandria; and which were otherwife in the Eaftern and Genuine Copies; Nay, from the Old Citations, may generally be reftor'd at this Day. When all this appears to the World, and undeniably appears, as I hope it foon will, I believe, your Lordship will alter your Stile, if not your Opinion concerning thefe Conftitutions; and will not think Two or Three appearing Diffi

culties,

culties, or feeming Contradictions, any more Arguments of their Spurious Character, than above Ten times fo many in the Books of the New Teftament in our prefent Canon, are Arguments of their Falfhood and Spurioufnefs alfo. Nor, if an Interpolation or two fhould be ftill fufpected as remaining therein, after all our Endeavours to discover them, will that any more affect the Body of the Constitutions, than that grofs Interpolation in St. John's First Epistle, does affect that whole Epiftle, or the rest of the Books of the New Teftament. I call it a grofs Interpolation, whatever your Lordfhip thinks; to put a Verse into the Bible, without any one Greek Copy, Ancient Quotation, or Verfion, till about the Middle of the Third Century by Cyprian: The Origin of which fingle Citation is alfo now fo probably discover'd by the Learned ; and a Verse fo very difagreeable, at least as apply'd by your Lordship to the Coherence of the Place, and all the other Texts and Teftimonies in Genuine Antiquity. Tertullian plainly never faw it; nor any one that we know bęfides, till it was found ufeful against the Arians; and then, no wonder at its Introduction. Let me beg of your Lordship, to keep one Ear open for Ancient Truth, and Genuine Chriftianity; and not, like your Great Predeceffor, run your felf aground in the Defence of Modern Corruptions, which will foon appear utterly indefenfible. I am, with all due Submiffion and Sincerity,

The Reader is here to Obferve, that foon after, if not before the Date of this Letter, Dr. Bray receiv'd from the Archbishop of York his Copy of my Papers relating to the Trinity and Incarnation, to be fent to the Lord Bishop of Worcester; whither they were, a little after, fent accordingly. Yet in all this long Interval fince, I have not receiv'd a Line farther from his Lordfhip, either in Answer to my Letter, or with Relation to the other Papers. I have put all thefe Accounts together, because they belong to my Debates with my Lord of Worcester; altho' the latter Part of them are lower in Point of Time, than that whereto I had brought the present History. I return therefore to the former Series.

Soon after my firft Letter to our most Reverend Metropolitans, and their Anfwers, I received Two Letters from the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Norwich, with whom I had the Honour of an Intimate Acquaintance many Years; the firft only in general, on Occafion of uncertain Reports concerning my Opinions; and the other, after I had given his Lordfhip fome Account of them my felf. I fhall transcribe what is moft material hereto relating, which was in his Lordship's Second Letter, in thefe Words.

1

I thank you for the Account you give me of the Work you have in Hand: And as I fee no Hurt in fuch a fair and entire Collection as you speak of, fo I fee none of that Good you propofe by it: Because People, the Learned at least, will think of these Matters, as they have done from fuch a Perufal of the Scriptures and Fathers, unless by fome Comment of yours

they.

they are fhewn that they ought to do otherwise. And when it comes to the drawing of Inferences from fuch a Collection, I leave it to you to confider, whether it is likely that your Inference fhould be more juft, that that which the Church in the general has fo long acquiefced in, after fo much acute Contention and Search as has been into, and about thefe Matters. I think you have already fhewn that you can err; and that a little more Coolness would do you no Hurt. I cannot believe that you your felf think fo well of your Defign, as that it will end all Difputes about thefe Things, as you feem to exprefs. I fhall moft heartily rejoice with you if it does, and blefs God for you: As I do now pray that he would lead you into all neceffary and ufeful Truth'; for I am, very fincerely,

Your Affectionate Friend and Servant,

C. NORWICH.

About the fame Time, i. e. about Aug. 1708. I drew up a small imperfect Efay upon the Apoftolical Conftitutions, and offer'd it to the Reverend Dr. Lany, Mafter of Pembroke-Hall, the then Vicechancellor, for his Licenfe to be printed at Cambridge; having taken Care that it fhould be as inoffenfive as poffible, and fhould contain nothing but what related to that Critical Question, Whether they were Genuine and Sincere; or, whether they were Spurious and Interpolated? The Anfwer I receiv'd from the Perfon employ'd to carry my Effay, was in thefe Words: