Notes of the Church, as Laid Down by Cardinal Bellarmin : Examined and Confuted

Notes Of The Church, As Laid Down By Cardinal Bellarmin : Examined And Confuted is a late-17th-century Anglican Protestant polemic published in London in 1687 that rigorously examines Cardinal Bellarmine’s proposed 'Notes of the Church' as criteria for identifying the true Church. The tract argues that antiquity, duration, unity, sanctity of doctrine, miracles, prophecy, confession of adversaries, and other such notes cannot reliably distinguish the true Church or secure papal infallibility. Instead, it asserts that the true Church is known primarily through the regnant Christian faith and Scripture, grounded in apostolic teaching and the proper administration of the sacraments by rightly ordained ministers. The Defender’s appended section, attributed to Henry Maurice, critiques the opposing methods and urges a sharper focus on substantive doctrine rather than rhetorical flourishes. Throughout, the author appeals to early Church Fathers and Scripture to show that genuine antiquity, unity, and sanctity must align with Apostolic teaching, and that Rome’s exclusive claim to Catholicity cannot be proven by Bellarmine’s notes alone. The work contends that multiple true churches sharing essential faith exist, rather than a single Rome-centered Church.