|| whence you may clearly perceive the great diffe rence there is betwixt him and thofe other Paftors, or to speak more properly, thofe Wolves, which you have had hitherto among you, as our Lord faith, in Sheeps cloathing. Hitherto your Error's have bad fome excufe, because you could know no more but what your Masters taught you; whereas from henceforward, you shall have no manner of excufe, neither before God nor Man, if you do not become fuch, as all that love you defire you to be. The Faith and Doctrine that has been preached to you by the Arch-Bishop, is the Faith of all the Chriftians in the Indies, and of all Clerks and Religions in thefe Parts, and which all Portugal, Spain, and in a word all Christendom holds. This is the Faith that was taught by the Son of God, the Faith that St. Thomas preached, and was preached alfo by St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles ; and if any shall teach the contrary, let him be, as St. Paul faith, Anathema, and Excommunicated and expelled the Society of the Faithful, as he is from Chrift, his Faith and Grace. The Lord give you a perfect knowledge of himself, as it is defired by your Brother in the Lord. Writ at Cochin the 28th of June, 1599. Your Brother in the Lord, Bishop Whence.] I do not believe that the Arch-Bifhops of Malabar made half fo much of their Bifhoprick, as Bifhop Andre did of his of Cochim, or as Father Roz the Jefuit made of Malabar, after. he was preferr'd to it by the Pope. * Christendom.] The Reformed, the Greek, the Muscovite, the Georgian, the Armenian, the Antinchian, Alexandrian, and Abyffin Church, are it feems no part of Christendom with this Declamer. Ff 4 The The SYNOD's Anfwer, The Lord Affift Us. To the moft Illuftrious and Reverend Lord Dom Andre, the moft worthy, Bishop of Cochim; The Diocefan Synod of the Chriftians of St. Thomas of the Bishoprick of the Serra, affembled in the Town of Diamper, wifheth eternal Health and Profperity in our Lord. O Ur moft Reverend Metropolitan ordered your most Illuftrions Lordship's Letter to this Synod to be read in a full Affembly of the Priests and People; and having heard and understood it, we rejoiced exceedingly in the Lord, to perceive that the Holy Doctrine taught us by your Lordship, is the fame with that our Metropolitan has preached in all our Churches, and has declared in this Synod, as alfo the fame that is preached by the Fathers all over this Diocefs, by which means we are the more confirmed in the Catholick Faith, and the Obedience we owe to the Holy Roman Church, our true Mother, and to our Lord the Pope, the Succeffor of St. Peter, and Chriff's Vicar upon Earth, as is manifest from the Acts of the faid Synod, Signed by Us, as your Lordship may fee; and if we have hitherto been wanting wanting to our Duty in thefe Matters,it did not proceed from any Obftinacy of Mind, or from any Inclination we had to be Hereticks, or Schifmaticks, but purely for want of the Light of true Doctrine and healthful and Catholick Food, which was not given us by our Prelates, but who did inftead thereof, poyfon us with the falfe Doctrines of Neftorius, and feveral other Errors; from which we are now, by the Divine Mercy, refeued; and by the goodness of God, and the Ministry of our Metropolitan, enlightened: from whence also rofe the Rebellion which was made by us, when the Truth began to be first preached to us; as alfo all the Troubles and Vexations that we gave to our Metropolitan, and the manifeft Dangers we expofed him to; for all which we are now heartily forry, and do dayly more and more lament it: But whereas God has been pleafed to enlighten us with his Doctrine, the Metropolitan being difcouraged by none of those things to go on preaching in our Churches, the light of the Truth coming to us by that means, we have cordially embraced, and have with an unanimous confent and great alacrity, made profeffion thereof in this Synod; having alfo put the Affairs of our Church in the best Order we were able, and fubmitting our felves to the Judgment of our Metropolitan Mar Aleixo, who as who as our Mafter, bas instructed us in all things: But whereas his Lordfhis, after his Vifitation of this Diocess is over, is go to refide in his own Diocefs, which we the end of his Vifitation, when he made a folemn renunciation of the Arch-Bifhoprick of Goa, take ་་་་ The SYNOD's Anfwer, The Lord Affift Us. To the most Illuftrious and Reverend Lord Dom Andre, the moft worthy Bishop of Cochim; The Diocefan Synod of the Chriftians of St. Thomas of the Bishoprick of the Serra, affembled in the Town of Diampor, wifheth eternal Health and Profperity in our Lord, O Ur moft Reverend Metropolitan ordered your most Illuftrions Lordship's Letter to this Synod to be read in a full Assembly of the Priests and People; and having heard and understood it, we rejoiced exceedingly in the Lord, to perceive that the Holy Doctrine taught us by your Lordship, is the fame with that our Metropolitan has preached in all our Churches, and has declared in this Synod, as alfo the fame that is preached by the Fathers all over this Diocefs, by which means we are the more confirmed in the Catholick Faith, and the Obedience we owe to the Holy Roman Church, our true Mother, and to our Lord the Pope, the Succeffor of St. Peter, and Chriff's Vicar upon Earth, as is manifeft from the Acts of the faid Synod, Signed by Us, as your Lordship may fee; and if we have hitherto been wanting Lordship that you would be pleafed to give leave to Such of our Priests as have a Licence from our Prelate to fay Mafs in your Churches, at least the Roman tranflated into Syrian, that it may appear thereby that we are all one in the Unity of one only Catholick Church; and that the divifion which Satan had made betwixt us, and most other Churches is at an end, all Churches making one onely Catholick Church, as your Lordship has clearly taught us, as a vigilant Paftor, in your learned Letter. The Lord preferve your Lordship's most Illuftrious Perfon, and prolong your Tears, for the good of the Church and the profit of the Sheep of Christ. Writ in the Synod of Diamper the 25th. of June, 1599. Praise be to God. A |