4. But your invincible faith keeps the honourable
distinction of conscious worth, and content with repudiating crafty,
vague, or hesitating action, safely abides in Christ, preserving the
profession of its liberty. You abstain from communion with those
who oppose their bishops with their blasphemies and keep them in exile,
and do not by assenting to any crafty subterfuge bring yourselves under
a charge of unrighteous judgment. For since we all suffered deep
and grievous pain at the actions of the wicked against God, within our
boundaries alone is communion in Christ to be found from the time that
the Church began to be harried by disturbances such as the expatriation
of bishops, the deposition of priests, the intimidation of the people,
the threatening of the faith, and the determination of the meaning of
Christ’s doctrine by human will and power. Your resolute
faith does not pretend to be ignorant of these facts or profess that it
can tolerate them, perceiving that by the act of hypocritical assent it
would bring itself before the bar of conscience.