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former Times, fince the Reftoration, had favour'd his Opinion fo far, as, at a private Confult, either at Lambeth, or any other Epifcopal Palace; to give it under their Hands, that Unauthoriz'd Baptifm when done with Water, and these Words, In the Name of the Father &c. is Good and Valid; Suppofe he could fhew us, or had Publifhed (as I dare fay He cannot) that they had Sign'd fuch their Opinion, drawn up in a Declaration to this Effect.

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"Forafmuch as Sundry Perfons have of late " by their Preaching, Writing, and Difcourf "es poffefs'd the Minds of many People, with "Doubts and Scruples about the Validity of "their Baptifm, to their great Trouble and Dif« quiet.

We, The Arch-Bishops, and Bishops, whose "Names are under-written, have thought it " incumbent on us, to Declare our feveral "Opinions, in Conformity with the Judgment "and Practice of the Catholick Church, and "of the Church of England in particular; "That fuch Perfons as have been Baptiz'd in, "or with Water, in the Name of the Fa"ther, &c. Ought not to be Baptiz'd again. "And to prevent any fuch Practice in our "Refpective Diocefes, we do require our feveral Clergy, that they prefume not to Baptize any Adult Person whatloe

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ver, without giving us timely Notice, as "the Rubrick requires.

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Even fuch an Inftance as this, if he could produce it, would not Amount to the Judgment of the Church of England; fuch Private Subfcriptions about Opinions, are not Our Churches Publick Acts; they can only be found in Her Determinati ons, agreed on by a Lawful Convocation. And tho' any particular Bifhop can enjoin his Clergy, not to Baptize Adult Perfons ordinarily, without giving him timely Notice, as the Rubrick requires; yet it is not to be fuppos'd, that any Pious Bifhop would lay this Injunction fo ftrictly on his Cler gy, as to hinder them from Baptizing an Adult without fuch Notice, in Articulo Mortis, when timely Notice cannot be given to the Bifhop; But as for the for mer part of fuch a fuppos'd Declaration, of a Select Number of Bishops; it is not to be imagin'd that a Lawful Convocation of the Clergy of our Church would af firm, that fuch Perfons as have been Bap

"tiz'd in, or with Water, in the Name "of the Father, &c. Ought not to be Baptiz'd again: For this we all know is POPERY; fuch a Determination would infer, that not only Womens Baptifm, but any other, tho' perform'd by a Boy or a

Girl;

Girl; a Stage-Player, an Unbaptiz'd Jen or a Heathen, if with Water and the Forzz of Words in the Name of the Trinity, is Chat One Baptifm which Chrift Inftituted for the Remiffion of Sins. Our Church, God be prais'd, and the Catholick Church too, have made no fuch Latitudinarian Determinations as this would be; and we ought to pray, that the Ho ly Spirit of God may preferve all our Sacred Synods from making fuch Decrees ; 'tis (I believe) juft and reasonable for us to Hope, that the Piety and Wisdom of our Clergy is fo great, as that we need not fear, their paffing fuch an Opinion into a Publick Act of our Church, fince their Zeal for the Authority of our Saviour's Inftitutions, will not fuffer them to affert that which tends directly to the Destruction of their own Sacred Office, and confequently of even Chriftianity it felf.

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As for "Baptizing again" 'tis not a Term to be allow'd; the Church always abhorr'd the Notion; when a firft Baptifm was falfe, 'twas not call'd Baptifm, but a Prophane Washing; and when the Act of Wafhing was repeated, 'twas not call'd Rebaptization or "Baptizing again" þụt ChriftianBaptifm, Chriff's Baptifm,

or Inftituted Baptifm. St. Cyprian conftantly adher'd to this, and hated the Term of Baptiz'd again, and fo did the Catholick Church when they requir'd Perfons to be Baptiz'd, who had only before been Wafh'd with Water without the Form in the Name of the Trinity: The Reafon is equally ftrong for Perfons to be Baptiz'd by a Lawful Minifter, who were only before Wash'd (tho' with the Form of Words in the Name of the Trinity) by Unauthoriz'd Hands, and fuch as Act in oppofition to Epifcopacy it felf: With these latter Prophane Walbings, the Ancient Church was not Exercis'd; fhe never had them under her Confideration; and therefore a Declaration, as before fuppofed, could not be founded on the Judgment and Practice of the Catholick Church. But 'tiş time for me to Conclude,

§. XXVII. I humbly Hope, I have prov'd, that the Church has made fuch Articles, Canons and Rubricks, as do by neceflary Confequence Null and Void Unauthoriz'd Baptifms; the Confequence of this Nullity is, the neceffity of Epifcopal Baptifm to those who have been fo Invalidly Baptiz'd; to Difprove this our Author muft enter into the Merits of

the

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the Caufe, whether he will or no; because
it is affirm'd, and endeavour'd to be pro-
ved by the Author of Lay-Baptifm Invalid,
that Chrift's Inftitution Nulls Unautho-
riz'd Baptism; and now further, that
the Church's Laws are made, to enforce
Our Obedience to
to the Institution of
Chrift: So that, what Chrift's Infti-
tution Nulls and makes Void, the
Church's Laws do alfo Invalidate; be-
cause they are made to Second the Defign
of his Inftitution; the Adversary must ei-
ther prove, that Chrift's Inftitution does
not Invalidate Lay-Baptifm; or if it do's,
then he must prove if he can, that the
Church's Laws were not made to en-
force Chrift's Inftitution: This he must
do to make good his Undertaking; for
throughout his whole Book he endea-
vours to perfwade his Reader, that the
Church's Laws do not Invalidate Lay-
Baptifm. And it is very Obfervable, that
he do's not fo much as attempt to prove
this from any One Article of the Church
of England; but brings Inftances of par-
ticular Mens Actions and Opinions, with
a Defign to Palm them upon us for the
Fudgment of the Church: How fairly he
deals with the World by fo doing, let the
Unbyafs'd Reader judge; and I heartily

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