"The Britannick Churches": Bramhall against Baxter

Below, two extracts from Bishop Bramhall's Vindication of himself and the Episcopal Clergy, from the Presbyterian Charge of Popery, written against Richard Baxter. Taken together, they give an insight into the Laudian understanding of the character of "the Britannick Churches".

In the first, Bramhall challenges Baxter's assertion that belief in the episcopal succession was intended to to "Unchurch all or most of the Protestant Churches".  Bramhall does so by pointing to the significant number of those churches of the Reformation which have retained the episcopal succession, and reminds Baxter that the churches abiding by the Genevan discipline are a minority amongst the churches of the Reformation:

First, I cannot assent to his major Proposition, That all those who make an ordinary personal uninterrupted succession of Pastors to be of the integrity of a true Church (which is the ground of of his exception) have therefore an intention, or can be justly suspected thereupon to have any intention to introduce the Pope. The Eastern, Southern, and Northern Churches are all of them for such a personal succession, and yet all of them utter enemies to the Pope. Secondly, I cannot assent to his minor Proposition, that either all or any considerable part of the Episcopal Divines in England do Unchurch either all, or the most part of the Protestant Churches. No man is hurt but by himself. They Unchurch none at all, but leave them to stand or fall to their own Master. They do not Unchurch the Swedish, Danish, Bohemian Churches, and many other Churches in Poloma, Hungaria and those parts of the World, which have an ordinary uninterrupted succession of Pastors, some by the names of Bishops, others under the name of Seniors unto this day. (I meddle not with the Socinians) They unchurch not the Lutheran Churches in Germany, who both assert Episcopacie in their Confessions, and have actual Superintendents in their practice, and would have Bishops name and thing if it were in their power. Let him not mistake himself, those Churches which he is so tender of, though they be better known to us by reason of their Vicinity, are so far from being all, or the most part of the Protestant Churches, that being all put together, they amount not to so great a proportion as the Britannick Churches alone.

In the second extract, Bramhall robustly refutes Baxter's assertion that the Laudians represented a breach with the "old Episcopal divines", emphasising continuity through a shared commitment to the Formularies:

He would perswade us that there are two sorts of Episcopal Divines in England, the old and the new. And that 'there is much more difference between the old and the new, than between the old and the Presbyterians'. O confidence whither wilt thou? what is the power of prejudice, and pride? The contrary is as clear as the light; we maintain their old Liturgy, their old Ordinal, their old Articles, their old Canons, their old Laws, Practices, and praescriptions, their old Doctrine and Discipline against them. Then tell us no more of old Episcopal Divines, and new Episcopal Divines; we are old Episcopal Divines, one and all: out of his own words I condemn him; 'The old sort of Episcopal Divines that received the publick Doctrine of the Nation, contained in the 39. Articles, Homilies, &c. I wholly acquitted from my jealousies of this compliance'. If they be old Episcopal Divines, who maintain the Doctrine of the 39. Articles and Homilies, then we are all old Episcopal Divines. In acquitting all them he acquitteth all us.