The Ancient Britains and Waldenses, having born so early and so large a part among the eminent and faithful Witnesses that have stood up for Christ and his Truths, against Antichrist and his Abominations. I conceive, it may neither be unseasonable, not altogether unacceptable, to give you a brief Historical Account of their Christianity, from our best and most approved Authors; whereby it may be manifested, that the Gospel, and the Truths thereof, did flourish in Power and Purity in these Western parts of the World, as received from the purest

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times, and were so far from being beholden to the Romish Harlot for Gospel-Light and Truth, as she lyingly and vain-gloriously boasteth; saying, Where was your Religion, Ministry, Churches, Ordinances, before Luther? That she hath all along not only been the abominable Corrupter and Contaminater [sic] of the Gospel, and all the parts thereof; but the malicious and murderous Persecuter [sic] of all that have sincerely embraced and professed the same: A Consideration not unworthy the present juncture, wherein so much of her poysonous infection is so afresh cast about; and which you'l find is not small Antidote and Preservative the Worthy Usher prescribes against it, in his excellent Piece, called The Succession and State of the Church; renouncing any the least Succession from Whorish Rome; but from these faithful Churches.

      The Filthiness of whose Fornications, shall in due time be more and more detected: and that however she may dream of sitting still as a Queen, and As the Lady and Mistress of the Nations, yet must she certainly fall, both Mother and Daughter, those that help, and those that are holpen; yea, as a Mill-stone into the Sea; for strong is the Lord God that will judge her: When the Doxology, Rev. 19.1, 2. must be sung by all the Servants of God, that fear his Name, both small and great, Allelujah; Salvation, and Glory, and Honour, and Power, unto the Lord our God; for true and righteous are his Judgments; for he hath judged the Great Whore, who did corrupt the Earth with her Fornications; and hath avenged the Blood

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of his Servants at her hand, Amen, Allelujah.

      The First we begin with is our Countreymen [sic], the Ancient Britains; concerning whom little is to found from their own Writers, either before, or some Ages after Christ, who either through Ignorance or Sloth, wrote nothing, or if they did, were by the Revolutions of time devoured.

      The most we find is from Strangers, especially the Romans, their first Conquerors: Whose Writings tell us what a Barbarous, Savage People they found them, with their naked Bodies, and Painted Skins (from whence, as Speed saith, their Name of Britains came, viz. from Brit, Paint, and Lain, a Region). And so inhumane, that they offered Man's Flesh in their Sacrifices, and kept their Women in Common: But afterwards, as the Gospel came and prevailed amongst them, they cast away their Heathenish Abominations; and which was so sincerely embraced by them, and took such deep Rooting amongst them, that they became Instrumental, in several Ages, to Convert and Conquer their Conquerors to it; viz. both Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans.

      Of the Gospel's first Entrance and Progress, we have the following Acccount from the best Authors we meet with, viz. The First I shall mention, giving any Account hereof, is our Countrey-man Gildas, called Balaus, Bodonicus, or Sapiens, the best and most Authentick of all the Ancient Britain-Historians, who (in his Book called De Victoria Aurelii Ambrosii)

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affirmeth, That Britain received the Gospel under Tiberius the Emperor, under whom Christ suffered; and that many Evangelists were sent from the Apostles themselves into this Nation, and that they came first out of France, about the year 63, and who were the first Planters of the Gospel in this Nation. And again, in his Book called De Excidio Britannie, saith, That the Precepts of Christ, though they were received but lukewarmly of the Inhabitants in general, yet they remained entirely with some, less sincerely with others, until the Ninth year of Persecution under Dioclesian the Emperor, which was about 290, in the third Century.

      Out of an Ancient Book of the Antiquities of England (as Mr. Fox, p. 139, Part 1. tells us) we find the Epistles of Elcutherius written to Lucius, the King of Britain, anno. 169. [in answer to his] recorded; By which we understand, That Lucius had embraced the Faith of Christ; who wrote, it seems, Elcutherius, for the Roman Laws to govern by: who in his said Epistle, as you may read at large, you have to this purpose; viz. you have received, through God's Mercy, in the Realm of Britany, the Law and Faith of Christ; you have with you within the Realm, both the parts of the Scriptures; out of them, by God's Grace, with the Council of your Realm, take your[?] Law, and by that Law, through God's sufferance, rule your Kingdom of Britain, &c.

      Tertullain, in his Book contra Judos; There are places of the Britains (saith he) which were unaccessible [sic] to the Romans, but yet subdued to Christ.

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      Origen, in his Fourth Hom. on B___ saith, The Power of God our Saviour is even with them which in Britain are divided from the World.

      Magdeburg. Cent. 3. c. 2. p. 6. We doubt not to affirm, that the Churches of the Island of Britain, did also remain in this Age.

      Balaus, Cent. 1. Fol. 37. Saith, That the British Churches received the Nicene Confession of Faith against the Arians; whence it was that Basil, Chrysostome, and others of the Greek Fathers make such frequent and great mention of the British Isles, their reception of the Gospel, and the divine sense they had of the power thereof, that the Churches also were exactly constituted according to Christ's Pattern.

      Jeffery of Monmouth, in his Book, De Britannorum Gestis, l. 8. c. 4. tells us, That in the Countrey of the Britains, Christianity flourished, which never decayed, even from the Apostles' times; amongst whom, saith he, was the Preaching of the Gospel, sincere Doctrine, and living Faith, and such Form of Worship,. As was delivered to the Churches by the Apostles themselves; and that they, even to Death it self, with stood the Romish Rites and Ceremonies; and that about the year 448, the English Saxons began to possess Britany; and that about 593, they having made a compeat Conquest of the Britains, began to settle their Heptarchy [sic]; that in 596, Gregory, Bishop of Rome, sent Austin the Monk into England, to bring Saxons into a Conformity to the Church of Rome: For as long as the British Churches possessed the Countrey, they kept themselves sound in the Faith, and pure in the Worship, Order, and Discipline

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of Christ, as it was delivered to them from the Apostles, or their Evangelists.

      That they were great opposers of the Church of Rome, the ancient Bard Taliossyn, in his Welsh Verses recorded in the Chronicle of Wales, p. 254, and translated by Fuller in his Ecclesiastical History, book 1, doth testifie, viz.

Wo be to the Priest yborne,
That will not cleanly weed his Corne,
And preach his Flock among.
Wo be to that Shepherd, I say
That will not watch his Fold Always,
As to his Office doth belong.
Wo be to him that doth not keep
From Romish Wolves the Sheep,
With Staff and Weapon strong.

      That about the beginning of the Seventh Century, Austin endeavoured to reduce the Britains, as well as the Saxons, to a conformity with the Church of Rome; at which time, the old Britains were principally in Wales, where Bangor of the North, and Cair-Leon on the South, were the two principal Seats, both for Learning and Religion: In Bangor was a Colledge [sic] containing 2100 Christians, who dedicated themselves to the Lord, to serve him in the Ministry, as they became capable; to whom was attributed the Name of the Monks of Bangor. Yet did they no ways accord with the Popish Monks of that, or the following Age; for they were not reduced to any Ecclesiastical Order; but were for the most part, Laymen, who laboured with their hands, married,

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and followed their Calling; only some of them, whose Spirits the Lord fitted and inclined to his more immediate Service, devoted themselves to the study of the Scriptures, and other holy Exercises, in order to the work of the Ministry: Who sent forth many useful Instruments, Fuller, l. x. p. 40. Balaus, Cent. 1. c. 70. Many of whom Austin got to a Council he kept about Worcestershire; where he propounded to the embracing the Roman Rites, and to join with him in Preaching and Administering in their way; which they refused. Then, as Rob. Fabian inn his Fifth Part, c. 119. fol. 125. tells us, He said to them, Since you will not assent to my Hests generally, assent you to me specially in three things: The First in your keeping Easter-Day in the Form and Time as it is ordered. The Second, That you give Christendom to Children. And the Third, That you Preach to the Saxons, as I have exhorted you. And all the other Debate, I shall suffer you to amend and reform amongst your selves. But, saith he, they would not thereof. To whom then Austin said, That if they would not take peace with their Brethren, they should receive war with their Enemies: And if they disdained to preach with them the way of Life to the English Nation, they should suffer by their hands the revenge of Death: And which Austin accomplished accordingly, by bringing the Saxons upon them, to their utter ruine. And thereupon saith Fabain, that Faith that had endured in Britain, for nearly 400 years, became near extinct throughout the Land.

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      An account of the Destruction of that famous Monastery of Bangor, and those worthy Christians inhabiting the same, you have thus briefly from Humphry, Lloyd, the learned Welsh antiquary, in his Brevidry of Britain, p. 70, 71. As followeth;

      In Denhigh-shire, saith he, near the Castle of Holt, is seen the Rubbish and Reliques of the Monastery of Bangor, while the Glory of the Britains flourished; In the same were 2100 Monks, very well ordered and learned, divided into seven parts, daily serving God; amongst whom those that were simple and unlearned, by their handy-labour, provided Meats and Drink, and apparel for the Learned, and such as applied themselves to their Studies; and if any thing was remaining, they divided it unto the Poor. That Place sent forth (saith he) many hundred of excellently well-learned Men; amongst whom it also vomited for to the World, Pelagius. And afterwards, by the Envy and Malice of Austin, that arrogant Monk, and the most cruel execution of his Minister Ethelfred, those worthy men were destroyed, the whole House, from the very Foundation, together with their Library(more precious than Gold) was razed down, and demolished by Fire and Sword.

      And hence it is manifest, that the bloody Massacre of those Glorious Witnesses of Christ did arise from their Christian Courage and Zeal against those Antichristian Impositions of the Romish Church.

========== [This document is from the reprint of "Early English Books Online" (EEBO), the second edition in paperback. The original is at Union Theological Seminary Library, NY. Transcribed and formatted by Jim Duvall.]

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