Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/437

 4* ? :; T fl*;- Vi I;S T ; aR Y; o. BodLl pbferv^d if* tl»c age of jth^^peAles 1 *; This Kvaa the modeiof ecclefiaftical polity that was observed in all the Chriftiia na- tions of the world No other ever made its appearance, in thfc church till (he year 1542.. A 1 ** this was, the modol of efcclet* fiaffckai polity that was particularly *t*fite4 ia "Britain.; ; ,Thf beft platform of government in itfelf R it appear* to have #&t early introduced into the ifland. And the Roi^an ^oflqueffc among us were regularly, partitioned into diocefts ^ early at le*ft as the year 314^ c .^ : .. : _ ;..... -i- /, /' • .. The firft bi&opr icks 4>f, tji§ ch*fch w0t*ld. ^sturdily be; torn** paenfurajte ^vith the proving of th$ #ate. . The firft fefif of the biihops wpuld naturally be fettled jtt the capitals 1 <}f the. pFOr vinces.. In conlequence ; pf the fomaer, the bifhepricks aflumed the general denominations; p£ Provinces and Diocpfes. In coo* fequence,0f, the latter,, tfert btihopriek^ adopted the particular ap- pellations of the Proviok:ial Capitdli*, Therfirft xliocefefc iu Brit tain tfaefeforfe muft have been thd fenxri as the pnarinoes of the Romans* and muft have been* like them, only four in nmnbeir within the compafs df the prefedtr England and Wales* V And three of t&dfc prefciricial biftiopii rappear as; iubfcribdrs )lo the Council of Arltei ih:^4 j /Ebdrtoat Epiffcopus* de CivitataEbo^ Wenfi, ProvmdiaBritaaaqil; SLeftituta^ Epifcopus* dc Civkate Londinenfi* Provincid fepra-firipdt ; and A delphite* Epifcoprasv ife Civitate Colonic Londincnfiam 6 . Thefe were all oftheia indisputably bifhops in'Britatfa. And W*o of thefe were evidently the bifllops of Ihe pfovmces Maxima arid Flauiau Eborius had his feat at York, the metropolis of our Maxima; Audi Refti tottjt had his refidencfe at Lohdfev a city probably fuperior irt gran- deur to all t$ie other cktes of Flavia and. the capital of them and 1 of the. province '-. : But where {hall we fix the feat 06 Adelphius ? Where fhal£ we find the fite of his Coloaia Lottdbehfium? The enquiry hafc long engaged the bufy efforts of conjectural criticHm.* But the difficulty is not yet removed. [ Camulodunum,. lfca. Sifarum,. and Lindum^ have all tikiee bcten fiippofed by different critics to be the particular residence of Adelphius**. The interior con* dition