VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

It hath yet or shuld haue a nother signifycacyon litle knowen amonge the comen people now a dayes. That is to witt / it signifieth a congregacion / a multitude or a company gathered to gether in one / of all degrees of people. As a man wold saye / the church of london / meaninge not the spiritualtie only (as they wilbe called for their diligent saruinge of god in the sprite & so sore eschuynge to medle wyth temporall maters) but the hole body of the cytye / of all kyndes condicions and degrees. And the church of bristow / al that pertayne vnto the towne generally. And what congregacion is ment / thou shall all waye vnderstonde by the mater that is entreted of and by the circumstaunces therof.

And in this thrid significacion is the church of god or christ taken in the scripture / euen for the whole multytude of all them that receaue the name of christe to beleue in him / and not for the clergye onlye. For paul saith Galatiens .1. I persecuted the church of God a boue measure. Which was not the preachers only / but all that beleued generally / as it is to se actes .xxij. where he saith / I persecuted this waye / euen vnto the deeth bindinge and puttinge in preson both men and wemen. And Galath. 1.1 was vnknowen concernynge my person vnto the congregacyons off the Iewes which were in chryste. And Roma. xvj. I commende vnto you phebe the deaconysse of the church of cenchris. And the churches of Asia salute you .1. Coryn. the laste.

12/6–7 I ... measure. Gal. 1.13. Cf. Erasmus' annotation on Et expugnabam .) 1516 NT, Caeterum ecclesiam uocat congregatiunculam illam Christianorum (Reeve 3.567). "Otherwise he calls the church 'that little congregation of Christians.'"

12/8–10 I ... wemen. Acts 22.4.

12/10–12 I ... chryste. Gal. 1.22.

12/12–13 I ... cenchris. Cf. Rom. 16.1 in which Answer has "the deaconysse of the church" and NT has "a minister of the congregacion " (Wallis 342/5–6;TNT 241A). Referring to the Greek diakonos , Morna D. Hooker judges that "minister" is the better translation. Cf. "Tyndale's 'Heretical' Translation" in Reformation 2 (1997) 127–42, esp. 139.

12/13–14 churches ... you. 1 Cor. 16.19.

And yf a man can not rule hys awne howsse / how shall he take the care of the church of God .1. Tymothe . iij? yf any faythfull man or woman haue wedoowes / let them fynde them / that the church be not charged. 1. Tymothe .v.

12/15–16 yf ... God. 1 Tim. 3.5. Cf. Erasmus' annotation on Ecclesiae dei.), 1522 NT, Nam ecclesia opponitur domo. 1527, Et ecclesia magna domus est (Reeve 3.671)."For 'church' is opposed to 'house.' And yet a church is a great house."

12/16–18 yf ... charged. 1 Tim. 5.16.