processerint did in the ministration of the Sacraments bestir themselves in a white Vesture so he advers Pelag Lib. 2. with which compare St. Chrysostom in his 83 Homily on St. Matthews Gospel for the Eastern Churches And hereunto the Cope was added in some principal Churches especially in the Celebration of the Blessed Eucharist Both which appear most evidently by the first Liturgy of K. Edw. 6. compared with one of the last clauses of the Act of Parliament 1 Eliz. c. 2. in which it is provided that such ornaments of the Church and of the Ministers shall be retained and be in use as were in the Church of England by Authority of Parliament in the second year of the Reign of King Edw. vi But this Vestur◠having been discontinued I know not by what fatal negligence many years together it pleased the Bishops and Clergy in the Convocation Anno 1603. to pass a Canon to this purpose viz. That in Cathedral and Collegiate Churches the Holy Communion shall be administred upon principal Feast dayes sometimes by the Bishops c. and that the principal Minister using a decent Cope c. Canon 24. 9. In that part of Divine Service which concerns the offering of the peoples Prayers to Almighty God it was required of the Priest or Presbyter first that in all the dayes and times appointed he used the Prayers prescribed in the publick Liturgy according to the Act of Parliament 1 Eliz. c. 2. and many subsequent Canons and Constitutions made in that behalf Secondly That he conformed himself to those Rites and Ceremonies which were prescribed in that Book and unto such as should be afterwards ordained by the Queens Majesty with the advice of her Commissioners appointed and authorized under the great Seal of England for causes Ecclesiastical or of the Metropolitan of this Realm as may be most for the advancement of Gods Glory the edifying of his Church and the due reverence of Christs Holy Mysteries and Sacraments And thirdly and more particularly That in his reading of the Prayers and Psalms he turn his face toward the East and toward the People in the reading of the Lessons or Chapters as appears plainly by the Rubrick which directs him thus That after the reading of the Psalms the Priest shall read two Lessons distinctly that the people may hear the Priest that reads the two Lessons standing and turning himself so as he may best be heard of all such as be present The Psalms or Hymns to be indifferently said or sung at the will of the Minister but the Hymns for the most part sung with Organs and sometimes with other Musical Instruments both in the Royal Chappels and Cathedral Churches Fourthly That he makes use of no other Prayers in the Congregation and therefore neither before nor after Sermon then those which are prescribed in the said Book of Common Prayer it being specially provided in the Act aforesaid that no Priest nor Minister shall use any other Rite Ceremony Order Form or manner of Celebrating the Lords Supper openly or privately or Mattens Evening Song Administration of the Sacraments or other open Prayers that is to say such Prayers as are meant for others to come unto or hear either in common Churches or private Chappels c. then is mentioned or set forth in the same Book Fifthly That all Priests and Deacons shall be bound to say daily the Morning and Evening Prayer either privately or openly except they be lett by Preaching studying of Divinity or some other urgent cause And sixthly That the Curate that ministreth in every Parish Church or Chappel being at home and not being otherwise reasonably letted shall say the same in the Parish Church or Chappel where he ministreth and shall toll a Bell thereto at convenient time before he begin that such as ar◠disposed may come to hear Gods Word and pray with him so as in some cases it may be said of the Priest as the Father doth of Christ that he is Os ipsum per quod loquimur The very mouth by which we speak unto our Father which is in Heaven And though it be intended in the Act of Parliament and exprest in the Articles of Religion that the Prayers are to be made in such a tongue as may be understood of the common people yet it is not meant as is declared in the Preface to the Book it self but that when men say Morning and Evening Prayers privately they may say the same in any language that they themselves understand Nor was it meant but that the Morning and Evening Service might be used in the Colledges and Halls of either University in the Latine tongue where all may be supposed to understand it as appears clearly by the constant and continual practise of Christ-Church in Oxon in which the first Morning Prayers commonly read about six of the Clock were in Latine the Morning and Evening Service with the Psalms of David being printed in Latine by themselves for that end and purpose 10. As for the Preaching of the Word that belongs properly and originally as the performance of all other Divine Offices did of old to the Bishops themselves as being the ordinary Pastors of the several and respective Diocesses and to the Priests no otherwise then by deputation as Curates and substitutes to the Bishops as may be proved out of the Instrument of their Institution For when a Clerk is to be admitted into any Benefice he puts himself upon his knees and the Bishop laying one Hand upon his Head and having the Instrument in the other repeats these words viz. Te N. N. ad Rectoriam de N. Ritè Canonicè instituimus curam regimen animarum Parochianorum ibidem tibi in Domino committentes committimus per presentes that is to say that he doth institute him into the said Benefice according to the Laws and Canons committing to him by these presents the care and Government of the Souls of all the Parishioners therein And therefore it concerns the Bishop not to Licence any man to Preach to the Congregation of whose good affections to the Publick abilities in Learning sobriety of Life and Conversation and conformity to the Government Discipline and form of Worship here by Law established he hath not very good assurance For though the Priest or Presbyter by his Ordination hath Authority to preach the word of God in the Congregation yet it is with this clause of Limitation If he shall be so appointed that is to say sufficiently Licenced thereunto and not otherwise And none were Licenced heretofore as was expresly ordered in the injunctons of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth but either by the Bishop of the Diocess who is to answer by the Law for every Minister he admits into the same for that Diocess only or by the Metropolitan of the Province for that Province alone or finally by either of the Universities upon the well performing of some publick exercise over all the Kingdom Considering therefore
it was not easie to Transcribe them insomuch that few of the Presbyters themselves could tell which of them were authentical which not So unsafely and uncertainly kept that they knew not where to address themselves for consulting with them That by reducing those numerous Act and those not known unto themselves to such a paucity of Canons published and exposed to the publick view no man should be insnared by ignorance or have just reason to complain of their multiplicity And finally That not one in all that Kingdom did either live under the Obedience of the Acts of those General Assemblies or did know what they were or where to find them Upon which grounds the Book of Canons being drawn up and presented to him he gave a Warrant under his Hand to the Archbishop of Canterbury requiring him together with the Bishop of London to peruse the same to see that they were well fitted to the Church-Government and as near as conveniently might be to the Canons of the Church oâ— England giving them and either of them full power to alter any thing in the said Canons as they found most fitting Which being done as he commanded and the Book made ready for the Press he pass'd his Royal Confirmation of it under the Great Seal oâ— the Kingdom in this manner following CHARLES REX WE 〈◊〉 of Our Royal Care for the Maintenance of the present Estate and Government of the Church of Scotland have diligently and with great content considered all the Canons and Constitutions after following and finding the same such as We are perswaded will be profitable not only to our whole Clergy but to the whole Church of that our Kingdom if so they be well observed Have for Vs Our Heirs and Lawful Successors of Our especial Grace certain Knowledâ—â— â—nd meer â—otion given and by these presents do give Our 〈◊〉 Assâ—â—t â—nto all the said Canons Orders and Constitutions 〈◊〉 all and every thing in them contained as they are afterwards set 〈◊〉 And further We do not only by Our Prerogative Royal and Supreme 〈◊〉 in Causes Ecclesiastical Ratifie and Confirm by these Our Letters Patâ—nts the said Canons Orders and Constitutions â—nd all â—nd every thing in them contained But likewise We command by 〈◊〉 â—uthority Royal and by these Letters Patents the same to be diligently observed and executed by all Our Loving Subjects of that Our Kingdom both within the Province of St. Andrews and â—lascow in all points wherein they do or may concern every or any of them according to this Our Will and Pleasure hereby expressed and declared And for the better observation of them We straightly Charge and Command all Our Archbishops Bishops and all others thaâ— exercise any Ecclesiastical Iurisdiction within that Our Realm to see the same Canons Orders and Constitutions to be in all points duly observed not sparing to execute the Penalties in them severally mentioned upon any that shall willingly break or neglect to observe the same as they tender the Honour of God the Peace of the Church the Tranquility of the Kingdom and their Service and Duty to Vs their King and Sovereign Given at Our Mannor of Greenwich 23 May 1635. These Canons when they came abroad were presently quarrelled and disclaimed by the Scottish Presbyters Quarrelled in reference to the subject matter comprehended in them Disclaimed because imposed upon them without their own approbation and consent The points most quarrelled at were these 1. That whosoever should affirm That the Kings Majesty had not the same Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical that the Godly Kings had among the Jews or the Christian Emperors in the Primitive Church or impugn in any part his Royal Supremacy in Causes Ecclesiastical was to incur the Censure of Excommunication 2. The like Censure to be inflicted on those who should affirm That the Worship contained in the Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments though at the making of these Canons there was no such Book of Common Prayer recommended to them or That the Government of the Church by Archbishops and Bishops or the form of Making and Consecrating Archbishops and Bishops c. did contain any thing repugnant to the Scriptures or was corrupt superstitious or unlawful in the Service and Worship of God 3. That the Ordinations were restrained to four times in the year that is the first Weeks of March June September and December 4. That every Ecclesiastical Person at his Admission should take the Oath of Supremacy according to the form required by Parliament and the like Oath for avoiding Symonie required in the Book of Consecration 5. That every Presbyter shall either by himself or by another Person lawfully called read or cause Divine Service to be done according to the form of the Book of that Common Prayer before all Sermons and that he should Officiate by the said Book of Common Prayer in all the Offices Parts and Rubricks of it when as yet none of them had seen the said Book or Liturgie 6. That no Preacher should impugn the Doctrine delivered by another in the same Church or any neer adjoining to it without leave from the Bishop which they conceived to be the way to pin their whole Religion on the Bishops Sleeves 7. That no Presbyter should hereafter become Surety or Cautioner for any Person whosoever in Civil Bonds and Contracts under pain of Suspension 8. That whatsoever remained of the Bread and Wine prepared for the Communion should be distributed to the poorer sort which receive that day to be eaten and drunken of them before they go out of the Church 9. That Presbyters are enjoined to Minister the Sacrament of Baptism in private Houses and upon every day alike in case of infirmity and that the People were required not to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper but upon their knees 10. That in all Sentences of Separation a Thoro Mensa there shall be a Caution inserted and given accordingly That the Persons so separated should live continently and chastly and not contract Marriage with any Person during each others life which seemed to put the innocent Party into as bad a condition as the guilty contrary to the Judgment of the Reformed Churches 11. That no private Meeting be kept by Presbyters or any other Persons whatsoever for expounding Scripture or for consulting upon matters Ecclesiastical Such matters to be handled only in the Lawful Synods held by Bishops 12. That under pain of Excommunication no Presbyter or Layman jointly or severally make Rules Orders or Constitutions in Causes Ecclesiastical or to add or detract from any Rubricks or Articles or other things now established without the Authority of the King or his Successors 13. That National or General Assemblies were to be called only by the Kings Authority That the Decrees thereof should bind as well the Absent as the Present in Matters Ecclesiastical and That it should not be lawful for the Bishops themselves in such Assemblies or otherwise to
the Kingdom At Hull he had a Magazine of Arms and Ammunition provided for the late intended War against the Scots and laid up there when the occasion of that War was taken away Of this Town he intended to possess himself and to make use of his own Arms and Ammunition for his own preservation but coming before the Gates of the Town he was denied entrance by Hoâ—ham who by the appointment of the House of Commons had took charge of that place The Gentry of Yorkshire who had Peâ—â—tioned the King to secure that Magazine became hereby more firmly united to him The like had been done also by the Yeomandry and those of the inferiour sort if his proceedings had not been undermined by a Committee of four Gentlemen all the Members of the House of Commons and all of them Natives of that County sent thither purposely in a new and unprecedent way to lie as Spies upon his Counsels and as Controllers to his Actions Some Messages there were betwixt him and the Houses of Parliament concerning the atoning of these differences whilst he was at York but the nineteen Propositions sent thither to him did declare sufficiâ—â—tly that there was no peace to be expected on his part unless he had made himself a Cypher a thing of no signification in the affairs of State It was desired in the eighth of these Propositions That his Majesty would be pleased to consent to such a Reformation as should be made of the Church Government and Liturgy as both Houses of Parliament should Advise wherein they intended to have Consultation with Divines as was Expressed in their Declaration And that his Majesty would contribute his best assistance to them for the raising of a sufficient maintenance for Preaching Ministers throughout the Kingdom And that his Majesty would be pleased to give his Consent to Laws for taking away of Innovations and Superstitions and of Pluralities and against Scandalous Ministers For satisfaction whereunto he first repeats unto them so much of a former Answer returned to their Petition which accompanied the Remonstrance of the State of the Kingdom as hath already been laid down in the year foregoing and after calls to their Remembrance a material clause in his Message of the 14th of February at such time as he yielded his consent to deprive the Bishops of their Votes in Parliament In which it was declared That his Majesty had Observed great and different troubles to arise in the hearts of his people concerning the Government and Liturgy of the Church and therefore that he was willing to refer the whole consideration to the Wisdom of his Parliament which he desired them to enter into speedily that the present Distractions about the same might be composed that he desired not to be pressed to any single Act on his part till the whole was so digested and settled by both Houses that his Majesty might cleerly see what was fit to be left as well as what was fit to be taken away Of which he addeth that he the more hoped for a good success to the general satisfaction of his People because they seemed in their Proposition to desire but a Reformation and not as had been daily Preached for Necessary in those many Coventicles which for the ninteen Months last past had so swarmed in this Kingdom a Destruction of the Present Discipline and Liturgy that he should most cheerfully give his best assistance for raising a sufficient maintenance for Preaching Ministers in such course as should be most for the encouragement of Piety and Learning that to the Bills they mentioned and the Consultation which they intimated as he knew nothing of the particular matters of the one though he liked the Titles of themselves so neither did he of the manner of the other but by an Informer to whom he gave little credit and wisht no man did more Common Fame he could say nothing till he saw them With which general well studied answer he dismissed that Article These Propositions and the entertaining of so many Petitions by the Houses of Parliament visibly tending to the Abolition of Episcopal Government made it appear most necessary in the Eyes of those who wisht well to it to hasten the publishing of such Petitions as had been presented to the King in behalf thereof and by his Majesty had been Ordered to be published accordingly For what could otherwise be expected but that many such Petitions should be presented to his Majesty and both Houses from several Counties in the Kingdom for the preserving of that Government under which this Church had flourished with Peace and Happiness since the Reformation Amongst which none did plead the cause with greater servency then that which was tendred in the name of the Gentry and Clergy of the Diocess of Canterbury partly out of the esteem they had to their Metropolitan and partly out of the affection which they carried to the cause it self In which Petition it was sâ—ewed That notwithstanding this Kingdom hath by the singular Providence of Almighty God for many years last past happily flourished above all other Nations in the Christian World under the Religion and Government by Law Established yet hath it been of late mâ—st miserably disâ—racted through the sinister Practices of some private persons ill affected to them both By whose means the present Government is disgraced and traduced the houses of God are profaned and in part deâ—aced the Ministers of Christ are contemned and despised the Ornaments and many Vtensils of the Church are abused the Liturgie and Book of Common Prayer depraved and neglected That absolute model of Prayer the Lords Prayer vilified the Sacraments of the Gospel in some places unduly administred in other places omitted Solemn days of Fasâ—ing observed and appointed by private Persons Marriages Illegally Solemnized Burials uncharitably performed And the very Fundamentals of Religion subverted by the Publication of a new Creed and teaching the Abrogation of the Moral Law For which purpose many offensive Sermons are daily Preached and many Impious Pamphlets Printed And in contemning of Authority many do what seemeth good in their own Eyes onely as if there were no King nor Government in this our Israel Whereby God is highly provoked his Sacred Majesty dishonoured the Peace of the Kingdom endangered the Câ—nsciences of the People disquieted the Ministry of Gods word disheartned and the Enemies of the Church imboldned in their enterprise For redress whereof May it please this great and Honourable Council speedily to Command a due observation of the Religion and Government by Law Established in such manner as may seem best to the Piety and Wisdom of his Royall Majesty aâ—d this Honourable Court Your Petitioners as they shall confidently expect a blessing from heaven upon this Church and Kingdom so shall they have this further cause to implore the Divine Assistance upon this Honourable Assembly To this Petition there subscribed no fewer then 24 Knights and Baronets Esquires and Gentlemen
1571. by the power and prevalency of some of the Genevian Faction the Articles were reprinted and this Clause left out But the times bettering and the Governors of the Church taking just notice of the danger which lay lurking under that omission there was care taken that the said clause should be restored unto its place in all following impressions of that Book as it hath ever since continued Nor was this part of the Article a matter of speculation only and not reducible to practice or if reducible to practice not fit to be enforced upon such as gain-said the same For in the 34. Article it is thus declared That whosoever through his private judgement willingly and purposely doth openly break the Traditions and Ceremonies of the Church which be not repugnant unto the word of God and be ordained and approved by common Authority ought to be rebuked openly that others may fear to do the like as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church and hurteth the the Authority of the Magistrate and woundeth the Consciences of the weak Brethren More power then this as the See of Rome did never challenge so less then this was not reserved unto it self by the Church of England And as for the Authority of the Church in controversies of Faith the very Articles by which they declared that power seconded by the rest of the points which are there determined is a sufficient Argument that they used and exercised that power which was there declared And because some objection had been made both by the Papists and those of the Genevian party that a Papal power was granted as at first to King Henry viii under the name of Supream Head so afterwards to Queen Elizabeth and her Successors it was thought expedient by the Church to stop that clamour at the first and thereupon it was declared in the Convocation of the Prelates and Clergy who make the representative Body of the Church of England in the 37. Article of the year 1562. That whereas they had attributed to the Queens Majesty the chief Government of all the Estates of this Realm whether Ecclesiastical or Civil in all cases they did not give unto their Princes the ministring either of Gods Word or of the Sacraments but that only Prerogative which was known to have been given alwayes to all godly Princes in Holy Scripture by God himself that is to say that they should rule all Estates and Degrees committed to their charge by God whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal and restrain with the Civil Sword the stubborn and evil doers Less Power then this as good Subjects could not give unto their King so more then this hath there not been exercised or desired by the Kings of England Such power as was by God vouchsafed to the godly Kings and Princes in Holy Scripture may serve abundantly to satisfie even the unlimited desires of the mightiest Monarch were they as boundless as the Popes 22. Next to the point of the Supremacy esteemed the Principal Article of Religion in the Church of Rome primus praecipuus Romanensis fidei Articulus as is affirmed in the History of the Council of Trent the most material differences betwixt them and us relate to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and the natural efficacy of good works in which the differences betwixt them and the first Reformers seem to be at the greatest though even in those they came as near to them as might stand with Piety The Sacrament of the Lords Supper they called the Sacrament of the Altar as appears plainly by the Statute 1 Edward vi entituled An Act against such as speak unreverently against the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ commonly called the Sacrament of the ALTAR For which consult the Body of the Act it self Or secondly by Bishop Ridley one of the chief Compilers of the common-prayer-Common-Prayer-Book who doth not only call it the Sacrament of the Altar affirming thus that in the Sacrament of the Altar is the natural Body and Blood of Christ c. But in his Reply to an Argument of the Bishop of Lincoln's taken out of St. Cyril he doth resolve it thus viz. The word Altar in the Scripture signifieth as well the Altar whereon the Jews were wont to oder their Burnt Sacrifice as the Table of the Lords Supper and that St. Cyril meaneth by this word Altar not the Iewish Altar but the Table of the Lord c. Acts and Mon. part 3. p. 492. and 497. Thirdly By Bishop Latimer his fellow Martyr who plainly grants That the Lords Table may be called an Altar and that the Doctors called it so in many places though there be no propitiatory Sacrifice but only Christ part 2. p. 85. Fourthly By the several affirmations of Iohn Lambert and Iohn Philpot two Learned and Religious men whereof the one suffered death for Religion under Henry viii the other in the fiery time of Queen Mary This Sacrament being called by both the Sacrament of the Altar in their several times for which consult the Acts and Monuments commonly called the Book of Martyrs And that this Sacrament might the longer preserve that name and the Lords Supper be administred with the more solemnity it was ordained in the Injunctions of Queen Elizabeth no Altar should be taken down but by the over-sight of the Curate of the Church and the Church-Wardens or one of them at least and that the Holy Table in every Church be decently made and set up in the place where the Altar stood and there commonly covered as thereto belongeth It is besides declared in the Book of Orders Anno 1561. published about two years after the said Injunction That in the place where the Steps were the Communion Table should stand and that there shall be fixed on the Wall over the Communion Board the Tables of Gods Precepts imprinted for the same purpose The like occurs in the Advertisements published by the Metropolitan and others the High Commissioners 1565. In which it is ordered That the Parish shall provide a decent Table standing on a frame for the Communion Table which they shall decently cover with a Carpet of Silk or other decent covering and with a white Linâ—en Cloath in the time of the administration and shall set the Ten Commandments upon the East-Wall over the said Table All which being laid together amounts to this that the Communion-Table was to stand above the steps and under the Commandments therefore all along the Wall on which the Ten Commandments were appointed to be placed which was directly where the Altar had stood before Now that the Holy Table in what posture soever it be plac't should not be thought unuseful at all other times but only at the time of the Ministration it was appointed by the Church in its first Reformation that the Communion-Service commonly called the Second Service upon all Sundayes and Holy-dayes should be read only at the Holy Table For first in the last
Rubrick before the beginning of that Service it is ordered that the Priest standing at the Holy Table shall say the Lords Prayer with the Collect following c. And it is ordered in the first Rubrick after the Communion That on the Holy Dayes if there be no Communion shall be said all that is appointed at the Communion until the end of the Homily concluding with the general Prayer for Christs Church Militant here on earth and one or more of the Collects before rehearsed as occasion shall serve No place appointed for the reading of the second Service but only at the Altar or Communion Table 24. Here then we have the Wood the Altar sed ubi est victima holocausti as Isaac said unto his Father But where is the Lamb for the burnt-offering Gen. 22.7 Assuredly if the Priest and Altar be so near the Lamb for the Burnt-Offering cannot be far off even the most blessed Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world as the Scripture styles him whose Passion we finde commemorated in the Sacrament called therefore the Sacrament of the Altar as before is said called for the same reason by St. Augustine in his Enchiridion Sacrificium Altaris the Sacrifice of the Altar by the English Liturgy in the Prayer next after the participation the Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving Sacrificium laudis by Chrysostom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the remembrance of a Sacrifice by many Learned Writers amongst our selves a commemorative Sacrifice For thus saith Bishop Andrews in his answer to Cardinal Bellarmine c. 8. Tollite de Missa Transubstantiationem vestram nec di◠nobiscum lis erit de Sacrificio c. Take from the Mass your Transubstantiation and we will have no difference with you about the Sacrifice And the King grants he means the learned Prince King Iames the name of a Sacrifice to have been frequent with the Fathers Which Sacrifice he sometimes calls Commemorationem Sacrificii and sometimes Sacrificium Commemorativum A Commemorative Sacrifice The like we finde in Bishop Morton who in his Book of the Roman Sacrifice l. 6. c. 5. called the Eucharist a representative and commemorative Sacrifice in as plain terms as can be spoken But what need any thing have been said for the proof hereof when the most Reverend Archbishop Cranmer one and the chief of the Compilers of the publick Liturgy and one who suffered death for opposing the Sacrifice of the Mass distinguisheth most plainly between the Sacrifice propitiatory made by Christ himself only and the Sacrifice commemorative and gratulatory made by Priests and People for which consult his Defence against Bishop Gardiner lib. 5. p. 439. And finally the testimony of Iohn Lambert who suffered for his Conscience in the time of King Henry viii whose words are these Christ saith he being offered up once for all in his own proper person is yet said to be offered up not only every year at Easter but also every day in the Celebration of the Sacrament because his Oblations once for all made it thereby represented Act. Mon. p. 2.35 So uniform is the consent of our Liturgy our Martyrs and our Learned Writers in the name of Sacrifice so that we may behold the Eucharist or the Lords Supper First as it is a Sacrifice or the Commemoration of that Sacrifice offered unto God by which both we and the whole Church do obtain remission of our Sins and all other benefits of Christs Passion And secondly As it is a Sacrament participated by men by which we hope that being made partakers of that Holy Communion we may be fulfilled with his Grace and heavenly Benediction Both which occur in the next Prayer after the Communion Look on it as a Sacrifice and then the Lords Board not improperly may be called an Altar as it is properly called the Table in respect of the Sacrament 25. With the like uniform consent we finde the Doctrine of a Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper to be maintained and taught in the first Constitution of this Church and this is first concluded from the words of Distribution retained in the first Liturgy of King Edward vi and formerly prescribed in the ancient Missals viz. The Body and Blood of our Lord Iesus Christ which was given for thee preserve thy Body and Soul unto life everlasting The Blood of our Lord Iesus Christ which was shed for thee c. Which words being thought by some precise and scrupulous persons to encline too much toward Transubstantiation and therefore not unfit to justifie a Real Presence were quite omitted in the second Liturgy of that King the words of Participation Take and eat this c. Take and drink this c. being used in the place thereof Which alteration notwithstanding it is affirmed by Bishop Ridley one of the principal Compilers of these two Books that in the Sacrament of the Altar is the natural Body and Blood of Christ. And if there be the Natural Body there must needs be a Real Presence in his opinion When this last Liturgy was reviewed by the command of Queen Elizabeth Anno 1558. the former clause was super-added to the other which put the business into the same state and condition in which we finde it at the first And when by the Articles of Religion agreed upon in Convocation Anno 1562. the Sacrifice of the Mass was declared to be a pernicious Imposture a blasphemous Figment and that Transubstantiation was declared to be repugnant to the plain words of Holy Scripture to overthrow the Nature of a Sacrament and to have given occasion to many Superstitions yet still the Doctrine of a Real Presence was maintained as formerly Alexander Nowel Dean of St. Pauls was chosen Prolocutor for that Convocation and therefore as like to know the true intent and meaning of the Church of England in every point which was there concluded as any other whatsoever and yet he thought it no contradiction to any of them to maintain and teach a Real Presence For in his Catechism publickly allowed of in all the Grammar Schools of this Realm he first propounds this question viz. Coelestis pars ab omni sensu externo longe disjuncta quaenam est c. that is to say What is the Heavenly or Spiritual part of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper which no sense is able to discover To which the party Catechized returns this answer Corpus Sanguis Christi quae fidelibus in coena dominica praebentur ab illis accipiuntur comeduntur bibuntur coelesti tantum spirituali modo verè tamen atque reipsa That is to say the heavenly or spiritual part is the Body and Blood of Christ which are given to the faithful in the Lords Supper and are taken eaten and drank by them which though it be only in an heavenly and spiritual manner yet are they both given and taken truly and really or in very deed Conform to which we have in brief the
Suffrage of the Right Learned Bishop Bilson who lived the greatest part of his time with the said Mr. Nowel by whom we are told in his Book of True Subject c. p. 779. And he tells it with a God forbid that we deny not That the Flesh and Blood of Christ are truly present and truly received of the faithful at the Lords Table 26. A clear explication of which Doctrine was made in the beginning of the Reign of King Iames by whose appointment with the consent of the Metropolitan some of the Bishops and other learned men of the Clergy it was ordered in the Conference at Hampton Court that the Doctrine of the Sacraments should be added to the Authorized Catechism of the Church where before it was not in which addition to the Catechism it is said expresly That the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken of the Faithful in the Lords Supper Verily and indeed saith the English Book Vere reipsa or Vere realiter saith the Latine Translations by which the Church doth teach us to understand that Christ is truly and really present though after a spiritual manner in that Blessed Sacrament And that this was the Churches meaning will be made apparent by the Testimony of some of the most learned men which have written since two of which I shall here produce that out of the mouths of two such Witnesses the truth hereof may be established The first of these shall be the most eminent Bishop Andrews a contemporary of the said Bishop Bilson who in his answer unto Cardinal Bellarmine thus declares himself Presentiam credimus non minus quam vos veram deinde presentiae nil temere definimus We acknowledge saith he a presence as true and real as you do but we determine nothing rashly of the manner of it The second shall be Bishop Morton as great an enemy to the Errors and Superstitions of the Church of Rome as any that ever wrote against it who could not but be sixty years of age at the death of Bishop Andrews and he affirms expresly That the question betwixt us and the Papists is not concerning a Real Presence which the Protestants as their own Jesuites witness do also profess Fortunatus a Protestant holding that Christ is in the Sacrament most Really Verissime Realissime as his words are By which it seems it is agreed on on both sides that is to say the Church of England and the Church of Rome that there is a true and real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist the disagreement being only in the modus presentiae 27. The like Dispute is also raised de modo descensus touching the manner and extent of Christs Descending into Hell which the Papists will have to be only partial and to extend no farther then to the upper Region of that infernal Habitation called by them commonly Limbus Patrum The Calvinists will have it to be only figurative no descent at all and they are sub-divided into three opinions Calvin himself interprets it of our Saviours Sufferings on the Cross in which he underwent all those torments even to Desperation which the damned do endure in Hell Many of the Calvinian party understand nothing by Christs Descent into Hell but his Descending into the Grave and then his descending into Hell will be the same with his being buried Which Tautology in such a short summary of the Christian Faith cannot be easily admitted And therefore the late Lord Primate of Ireland not liking either of their opinions will finde a new way by himself in which I cannot say what leaders he had but I am sure he hath had many followers And he by Christs descending into Hell will haue nothing else to be understood but his continuing in the State of Separation between the Body and the Soul his remaining under the power of death during the time that he lay buried in the Grave which is no more in effect though it differ somewhat in the terms then to say he dyed and was buried and rose not again till the third day as the Creed instructs us and then we are but where we were with the other Calvinists But on the contrary the Church of England doth maintain a Local Descent that is to say That the Soul of Christ at such time as his Body lay in the Grave did Locally Descend into the neathermost parts in which the Devil and his Angels are reserved in everlasting Chains of Darkness unto the Judgment of the great and terrible Day And this appears to be the meaning of the first Reformers by giving this Article a distinct place by its self both in the Book of Articles published in the time of King Edward vi Anno 1552. and in the Book agreed upon in the Convocation of the 5. of Queen Elizabeth 1564. in both which it is said expresly in the self-same words viz. As Christ dyed for us and was buried so also is it to be believed that he went down into Hell which is either to be understood of a Local Descent or else we are tyed to believe nothing by it but what explicitely or implicitely is comprehended in the former Article in which there is particular mention of Christs Sufferings Crucifying Death and Burial Now that this is the Churches meaning cannot be better manifested then in the words of Mr. Alexander Nowel before-mentioned who for the reasons before remembred cannot in reason be supposed to be ignorant of the true sense and meaning of the Church in that particular and he accordingly in his Catechism publickly allowed of with reference to a Local Descent doth declare it thus viz. Vt Christus corpore in terrae viscera ita anima corpore separata ad inferos descendit c. that is As Christ descended in his Body into the bowels of the earth so in his Soul separated from that Body he descended also into Hell by means whereof the power and efficacy of his Death was not made known only to the dead but to the Devils themselves insomuch that both the souls of the unbelievers did sensibly perceive that condemnation which was most justly due to them for their incredulity and Satan himself the Prince of Devils did as plainly see that his tyranny and all the powers of darkness were opprest ruined and destroyed Which Doctrine when it began to be decryed and the Calvinian Gloss to get ground upon it was learnedly asserted by Dr. Thomas Bilson then Bishop of Winchester in his Book entituled A Survey of Christs Sufferings in which he hath amassed together whatsoever the Fathers Greek and Latine or any of the ancient Writers have affirmed of this Article with all the points and branches which depend upon it 28. The Sufferings of Christ represented in the Blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper with some of the effects thereof by his descending into Hell being thus dispatched we shall next look into that of Baptisme in which we shall consider the necessity
first and afterwards the efficacy of it And first in reference to the Necessity The first Reformers did not only allow the administration of this Sacrament in private houses but permitted it to private persons even to women also For it was ordered in the Rubrick of Private Baptism That when any great need shall compel as in extremity of weakness they which are present shall call upon God for his Grace and say the Lords Prayer if the time will suffer and then one of them shall name the Childe and dip him in the water or poure water upon him saying these words N. I Baptize thee in the name of the Father c. At which passage when King Iames seemed to be offended in the Conference at Hampton-Court because of the liberty which they gave to Women and Laicks It was answered then by Dr. Whitgift Archbishop of Canterbury That the administration of Baptisme by Women and Lay Persons was not allowed in the practice of the Church but enquired of and censured by the Bishops in their Visitations and that the words in the Book inferred no such meaning Against which when the King excepted urging and pressing the words of the Book that they could not but intend a permission and suffering of Women and private Persons to Baptize It was answered by Dr. Babington then Bishop of Worcester That indeed the words were doubtful and might be pressed to that meaning but that it seemed by the contrary practice of this Church censuring Women in this case That the Compilers of that Book did not so intend them and yet propounded them ambiguously because otherwise perhaps the Book would not have then passed in the Parliament But then stood forth the Bishop of London Dr. Bancroft and plainly said That it was not the intent of those Learned and Reverend men who framed the Book of Common-Prayer by ambiguous terms to deceive any but did indeed by those words intend a permission of private persons to Baptize in case of Necessity whereof their Letters were witnesses some parts whereof he then read and withal declared That the same was agreeable to the practice of the ancient Church as appeared by the Authority of Tertullian and of S. Ambrose on the 4th of the Ephesians who are plain in that point laying also open the absurdities and impieties of their opinions who think there is no necessity of Baptism And though at the motion of that King it was ordered that the words Lawful Minister should be put into the Rubrick First let the LAWFVL MINISTER and them that be present call upon God for his Grace c. The said LAWFVL MINISTER shall dip it into the Water c. yet was the alteration greater in sound then sense it being the opinion of many great Clerks that any man in cases of extream necessity who can pronounce the words of Baptism may pass in the account and notion of a lawful Minister So much for the necessity of Baptism And as for the efficacacy thereof it is said expresly in the 27. Article To be a sign of Regeneration or New Birth whereby as by an Instrument they that receive Baptisme rightly are grafted into the Church the promises of forgiveness of Sin and of our Adoption to be the Sons of God by the Holy Ghost are visibly signed and sealed Faith is confirmed and Grace is encreased by vertue of Prayer unto God and as expresly it is said in one of the Rubricks before Confirmation That it is certain by Gods word that Children being Baptized have all things necessary for their Salvation and be undoubtedly saved that is to say for so it must be understood in case they dye before they fall into the committing of Actual Sins 29. Touching good works and how far they conduce unto our Iustification the breach was wider at the first breakin gs out of Luther then it hath been since Luther ascribing Iustification unto Faith alone without relation unto Works and those of Rome ascribing it to good Works alone without relation unto Faith which they reckoned only amongst the preparatives unto it But when the point had been long canvased and the first heats were somewhat cooled they began to come more neer unto one another For when the Papists attributed Iustification unto Works alone they desired to be understood of such good Works as proceeded from a true and lively Faith and when the Lutherans ascribed it to Faith alone they desired to be understood of such a Faith as was productive of good Works and attended by them The Papists thereupon began to cherish the distinction between the first and second Iustification ascribing the first unto Faith only the second which the Protestants more properly called by the name of Sanctification to the works of Righteousness The Protestants on the other side distinguishing between Fides sola and solitaria between Sola Fides and Fides quae est Sola intending by that nicity that though Faith alone doth justifie a sinner in the sight of God yet that it is not such a Faith as was alone but stood accompanied with good Works And in this way the Church of England went in her Reformation declaring in the 11 Article That we are accounted righteous before God only for the Merits of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ by Faith and not for our own works or deservings Which Justification by Faith only is further declared to be a most wholesome Doctrine and very full of comfort for which we are referred to the Book of Homilies And in the Book of Homilies we shall also finde That we may well bear the name of Christian men but we lack that true Faith which belongeth thereunto For true Faith doth evermore bring forth good Works as St. Iames speaketh Shew me thy Faith by thy Works Thy Deeds and Works must be an open testimony of thy Faith otherwise thy Faith being without good Works is but the Devils faith the faith of the wicked a phantasie of Faith and not a true Christian Faith And that the people might be be trained up in the works of Righteousness it is declared in the 7th Article That no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral According whereunto it is ordered by the publick Liturgy that the said Commandments shall be openly read in the Congregation upon Sundayes and Holy Dayes contrary to the usage of all ancient Liturgies the people humbly praying God To have mercy upon them for their transgression of those Laws and no less humbly praying him To encline their hearts to keep the same So that though Faith must lead the way to our Iustification yet holiness of life manifested in the works of Charity and all other acts of godly living must open the way for us to the Gates of Heaven and procure our entrance at the same as is apparent by the 25. of St. Matthews Gospel from verse 34. to 41. 30. Which being so it may be well affirmed without any wrong
assured that even with my whole heart God is my witness in the Bowels of Christ I love you in truth and for truths sake which abideth in us and I am perswaded by the Grace of God shall abide in us for evermore Acts and Mon. in Edw. vi fol. 1366. Now as Bishop Ridley thus declares himself to be of the same Judgement with Bishop Hooper so Cranmer the Archbishop doth declare himself to be of the same Judgement with Bishop Ridley for being charged in his examination with thinking otherwise in the point of the Sacrament then he had done about seven or eight years before he answereth That he then believed otherwise than he did at that present and that he did so till the Lord of London Dr. Ridley did confer with him and by sundry perswasions and Authorities of other Doctors drew him quite from his opinion with whom he now agreed ibid fol. 1702. Which words though spoken only in relation to such points about the Sacrament of the Altar concerning which he was then examined by the Popes Commissioners yet do they signifie withal that he relyed very much on Ridleys Judgement and that they were as like to be accorded in all other matters of Religion as they were in that And though Cranmer exercised his Pen for the most part against the Papists yet in his Book against Steven Gardiner Concerning the Sacrament of Christs Body and Blood first published in the year 1551. he thus delivereth his opinion in the present Controversies For speaking of the Sacrifice which was made by Christ he lets us know That he took unto himself not only their sins that many years before were dead and put their trust in him but also all the sins of those that until his coming again should truly believe his Gospel so that now we may look for no other Priest nor Sacrifice to take away our sins but only him and his Sacrifice that as he dying once was offered for all so as much as pertained unto him he took all mens sins unto himself fol. 372. Which is as much as could be looked for from a man who did not purposely apply himself to the points in question Finally it were worth the learning to know why the Paraphrases of Erasmus a man of a known difference in Judgement from Calvins Doctrines in these points should be translated into English by the care of our Prelates and being so translated should be commended both by King Edward vi and Queen ELizabeth to the diligent reading of their Subjects of all conditions which certainly they had not done if they had not been thereunto perswaded by those Bishops and other learned men about them who had a principal hand in â—he Reformation which clearly shews how much as well the Priest as the people were to ascribe unto the Judgement of that learned man and consequently how little unto that of Calvin in the present Controversies 39. So near this Church comes up unto the Church of Rome in Government forms of Worship and some points of Controversie And some there are in which they totally disagreed and stood in opposition unto one another viz. In the Articles touching the sufficiency of the Scripture Iustification the merit of good Works Works done before Iustification Works of Supererogation the Fallibility or Infallibility of the Church of Rome the Authority of General Councils Purgatory Adoration of Images Invocation of Saints the Celebrating of Divine Service in the vulgar tongues the nature and number of the Sacraments Transubstantiation the Communion in both kindes the Sacrifice of the Mass the single life of Priests the power of National Churches in ordaining Ceremonies and of the Civil Magistrate in matters of Ecclesiastical nature In many of which it might be found no difficult matter to atone the differences whensoever it shall please God to commit the managing of them to moderate and prudent men who prefer truth before opinion and peace before the prevalency of their several parties But whether it be so in all is a harder question and will remain a question to the end of the world unless all parties lay aside their private interest and conscienciously resolve to yield as much to one another as may stand with Piety And then what reason can there be why the breaches in the walls of Ierusalem should not be made up and being made up why Ierusalem should not be restored to its former Honour of being a City at unity within it self The hopes of which may be the greater because there are so many points so far forth as they stand comprised in the Book of Articles in which the first Reformers were so far from being at any difference with the Church of Rome that they did rather joyn with them in opposing the common enemy Familists Libertines Anti-Trinitarians Anabaptists and other Hereticks of that age who seemed to dig at the foundation of the Christian Faith and aim at the subversion of humane Society Of which sort are the Articles of the Holy Trinity the Incarnation of the Son of God the Divinity of the Holy Ghost of the Old Testament of the three Creeds of Original Sin of the Authority of the Church of ministring in the Congregation of hindring the effect of the Sacraments by unworthy Ministers of Infant Baptism and the Traditions of the Church of the Consecration of Bishops and Ministers of the Authority of the Civil Magistrate in making Wars and punishing Malefactors with Temporal Death of the community of Goods and the exacting of an Oath to finde out the truth Of most of which it may be said in St. Augustines language His qui contra dicit aut a Christi fide alie nus est aut est Hereticus that he who shall deny to give his assent unto them is either an alien from the Faith or at least an Heretick 40. And then there are some other things which are not comprehended in those Articles in which though there were differences between them in point of Judgement yet the Reformers thought not fit to determine of them positively upon either side but left them to the liberty of opinion to be disputed Pro and Con amongst learned men according as their understandings fancy or affections should dispose them to it some points there are of Phylological and others of Scholastical Divinity in which there is Libertas opinandi a liberty of opinion left unto us de quibus sentire quâ—e velis quae sentias loqui liceat in the words of Tacitus In thâ—se and such as these St. Paul himself seems to leave a latitude when he gives way Vt quilibet Abundet in suo sensu Rom. 14.5 that is to say Let every man abound in his own sense as the Rhemists read it especially If he be fully perswaded in his own minde touching the truth of what he writes as our last Translation Which liberty as some have taken in closing with the Papists in some particulars which are not contrary to the Faith and
on all such Books which they found to be Schismatical and Offensive and bring them to the said Archbishop or Bishop or to the High-Commission Office And finally That no Merchant Bookseller c. should Print or cause to be Printed beyond the Seas any Book or Books which either totally or for the greatest part were written in the English Tongue whether the said Books have been here formerly Printed or not nor shall willingly or knowingly Import any such Books into this Kingdom upon pain of being proceeded against in either of the said two Courts respectively as before is said By means of which Decree he had so provided both at home and abroad That neither the Patience of the State should be exercised as in former times with continual Libels nor the Church troubled by unwarrantable and Out-landish Doctrines But good Laws are of no effect without execution and if he took no care for that he had lost his labour King Iames had manifested his dislike of the Genevian Bibles and the Notes upon them some of which did not only teach Disobedience to Kings and Princes but the murthering of them also if they proved Idolaters and others did not only teach the Lawfulness of breaking Faith and Promise when the keeping of it might conduce to the hurt of the Gospel but ranked Archbishops Bishops and all men in Holy Orders or Academical Degrees amongst those Locusts in the Revelation which came out of the Pit That King gave Order thereupon That the Bible of the New Translation should be printed with no Notes at all which course he also recommended to the Synod of Dort to be observed in the new Translation of the Bible into the Dutch or German Tongue which was then intended Upon this ground the Printing of those Bibles with Notes upon them had been forbidden in this Kingdom but were Printed in Holland notwithstanding and brought over hither the better to keep up the Faction and aâ—â—ront Authority Some of them had before been seised in Holland by the care of Boswel the Resident at the Hague And in the beginning of this year he received Advertisement of a new Impression of the same designed for England if the terrour of this Decree did not stop their coming Because Holland and the rest of the Provinces under the Government of the States was made the Receptacle of many of our English Malecontents who there and from thence vented their own Passions and the Discourses of their Party in this Kingdom to the disturbance of the Church it concerned him to keep a careful watch over them and their Actions Of these he had Advertisement from time to time by one Iohn Le Maire and thereupon by the means of Boswell his right trusty Friend he dealt so effectually with the States-General of those Provinces that they made a Proclamation against the Printers and Spreaders of Libellous and Seditious Books against the Church and Prelates of England and tooke Order with the Magistrates of Amsterdam and Rotterdam two great Towns in Holland for apprehending and punishing of such Englishmen as had Printed any of the said Lawless and Unlicenced Pamphlets There was a time when Queen Elizabeth beheld the Pope as her greatest Enemy in reference to her Mothers Marriage her own Birth and consequently her Title to the Crown of England and many of the Books which were Printed in and about that time were full of bitterness and revilings against the Church of Rome it self and all the Divine Offices Ceremonies and Performances of it There was a time also when the Calvinian Doctrines were embraced by many for the Genuine Doctrines of this Church to the great countenancing of the Genevian Discipline and Forms of Administration And not a few of the Books then Printed and such as after were Licenced in Abbot's Time aimed principally at the Maintenance of those Opinions which the latter Times found inconsistent with the Churches Doctrines With equal diligence he endeavoured by this Decree to hinder the Reprinting of the one and the other that so the Church might rest in quiet without any trouble or molestation in her self or giving offence to any other As little Trouble could be feared from Lecturers as they now were Regulated The greatest part of those who had been Superinducted into other Mens Cures like a Doctor added to the Pastor in Calvin's Plat-form had deserted their Stations because they would not read the Common-Prayers in their Hoods and Surplices according to the Kings Instructions before remembred such as remained being either founded on a constant or certain Maintenance or seeing how little was to be gotten by a fiery and ungoverned Zeal became more pliant and conformable to the Rules of the Church Not a Lecturer of this kind found to stand out in some great Diocesses to keep up the Spirits of the Faction and create disturbances And as for Combination-Lecturers named for the most part by the Bishops and to them accountable they also were required in some places to read the second Service at the Communion-Table to go into the Pulpit at the end of the Nicene Creed to use no other form of Prayer than that of the 55th Canon after the Sermon ended to go back to the Table and there read the Service All which being to be done in their Hoods and Surplices kept off the greatest part of the rigid Calvinists from exercising their Gifts as formerly in great Market-Towns And as for the position of the Communion-Table it was no longer left to private Instructions as it was at the first when the Inquiry went no further than Whether the Lords Table was so conveniently placed that the Minister might best be seen and heard of the Congregation The more particular disposing of it being left to Inference Conjecture or some private Directions It now began to be more openly avowed in the Visitation-Articles of several Bishops and Archdeacons some of which we shall here produce as a light to the rest For thus we find it in the Articles for the Archdeaconry of Buckingham Anno 1637. Art 5. Have you a decent Table or a Frame for the Holy Communion placed at the East end of the Chancel Is it Railed in or Enclosed so as Men or Boys cannot sit upon it or throw their Hats upon it Is the said Rail and Inclosure so made with Settles and kneeling-Benches at the foot or bottom thereof as the Communicants may fitly kneel there at the Receiving of the Holy Communion The like for the Diocess of Norwich in the year before where we find it thus viz. Have you in your Church a Communion Table a Carpet of Silk c. And is the same placed conveniently so as the Minister may best be heard in his Administration and the greatest number may reverently Communicate To that end Doth it ordinarily stand up at the East end of the Chancel where the Altar in former times stood the ends thereof being placed North and South And in another Article it is
thought it convenient that a Canon should be prepared to that purpose or not Which being carried in the affirmative without any visible dissent one of the Clerks for the Diocess of Bristol presented a Canon ready drawn for the same effect but drawn in such a commanding and imperious Style that it was disliked by all the company but himself and thereupon a Sub-committeee was appointed to prepare the Canon and make it ready with as much dispatch as they could conveniently Which was no sooner agreed on and the Committee continued for some following business but the Archdeacon of Huntington who was one of the number made his first appearance so extreamly discontented that he was not stayed for and that the business was concluded before he came and earnestly pressing the Prolocutor that the debate might be Resumed or at the least his Reasons might be heard against the Vote which when the Prolocutor upon very good Reasons had refused to yield too he fell upon him with such heats and used him so exceeding coursly that on complaint made thereof and of some other intervening harshness made by the Prolocutor in a full House of the Clergy he was ordered by the far Major part to quit the House though afterwards Restored again on the acknowledgment of his Errour when his heats were down Which Rubb removed the Canon went very smoothly on without opposition commended Generally for the Modesty and Temper of it in which Respect I hold it worthy to be presented to the Reader in its full proportion without any Abbreviation of it as of those before A Declaration concerning some Rites and Ceremonies BEcause it is generally to be wished that Vnity of Faith were accompanied with Vniformity of Practice in the outward Worship and Service of God chiefly for the avoiding the groundless suspicioâ— of those who are weak and the malicious Aspersions of the professed enemies of our Religion the one fearing Innovations the other flattering themselves with a vain hope of our back-sliding unto their Popish Superstition by reason of the situation of the Communion Table and the approaches thereunto the Synod declareth as followeth That the standing of the Communion Table side-way under the East Window of every Chancelâ—or Chappel is in its own nature indifferent neither commanded nor condemned by the Word of God either expresly or by immediate deduction and therefore that no Religion is to be placed therein or scruple to be made thereon And albeit at the time of reforming this Church from the gross superstition of Popery it was carefully provided that all means should be used to roâ—t out of the Minds of the People both the inclination thereunto and memory thereof especially of the Idolatry committed in the Mass for which cause all Popish Altars were demolished yet notwithstanding it was then ordered by the Injunctions and Aâ—vâ—rtisements of Queen Elizabeth of blessed memâ—ry that the holy Table should stand in that place where the Altar stood and accordingly have been continued in the Royal Chappels of three famous and pious Princes and in most Cathedral and some Parochial Churches which doth sufficiently acquit the manner of placing the said Tables from any illegality or just suspicion of Popish Superstition or Innovation And therefore We judge it fit and convenient that all Churches and Chappels do conform themselves in this particular to the example of the Cathedral or mother Churches saving alwaies the general liberty left to the Bishop by Law during the time of the Administration of the holy Communion And We declare that this Situation of the holy Table doth not imply that it is or ought to be esteemed a true and proper Altar whereon Christ is again really sacrificed But it is and may be called an Altar by us in that sense which the Primitive Church called it an Altar and no other And because experience hath shewed us how irreverent the behaviour of many people is in many places some leaning other casting their hats and some sitting upon some standing at and others sitting under the Communion Table in time of Divine Service For the avoiding of these and the like abuses it is thought meet and convenient by this present Synod that the said Communion Table in all Churches or Chappels be decently severed with Rails to preserve them from such or worse prophanations And because the Administration of holy things is to be performâ—d with all possible decency and reverence therefore we judge it fit and convenient according to the word of the service-Service-Book established by Act of Parliamenâ— Draw near c. that all communicants with an humble reverence shall draw near and approach to the holy Table there to receive the divine mysteries which have heretofore in some places been unfitly carried up and down by the Minister unless it should be otherwise appointed in respect of the incapacity of the place or other inconvenience By the Bishop himself in his Iurisdiction and other Ordinaries respectively in theirs And lastly whereas the Church is the House of God dedicated to his holy Worship and therefore ought to mind us both of the greatness and goodness of his divine Majesty certain it is that the acknowledgment thereof not only inwardly in our hearts but also outwardly with our bodies must needs be pious in it self profitable unto us and edifying unto others We therefore think it very meet and behoveful and heartily commend it to all good and well-affected people Members of this Church that they be ready to tender unto the Lord the said acknowledgment by doing reverence and obeysance both at their coming in and going out of the said Churches Chancels or Chappels according to the most ancient custome of the Primitive Church in the purest times and of this Church also for many years of the Reign of Queen Elizaâ—eth The receiving therefore of this ancient and laudable Custome we heartily commend to the serious consideration of all good People not with any intention to exhibit any Religious Worship to the Communion Table the East or Church or any thing therein contained in so doing or to perform the said Gesture in the Celebration of the holy Eucharist upon any opinion of the Corporal presence of the Body of Christ on the holy Table or in the mystical Elements but only for the advancement of Gods Majesty and to give him alone that honour and glory that is due unto him and no otherwise And in the practice or omission of this Rite we desire that the Rule of Charity prescribed by the Apostle may be observed which is That they which use this Rite despise not them who use it not and that they whâ— use it not condemn not those that use it No sooner was this Declaration passed and sent up to the Lords but on the same day or the next an Address was made to the Prolocutor by the Clerk for Westminster concerning the confusion which hapned in most parts of the Church for want of one uniform body oâ— Articles to be used
of the Church by whom a Sub-Committee was the same day named to prepare such matters as were to be discoursed and concluded by them the Bishop of Lincoln being in the 〈…〉 both Which Sub-Committee being made up of the Divines above-mentioned consisted of three Bishops nine Doctors in Divinity and four of some inferiour Degree in the Universities some of them being Prelatical and some Presbyterian in point of Government but all of them Calvinians in point of Doctrine Beginning first with points of Doctrine complaint was made that the whole body of Armimanism and many particular points of Popery for so they called all which agreed not with Calvin's sense had been of late maintained in Books and Sermons and sometimes also in the Divinity Schools And then descending to matter of Discipline they discoursed of many Innovations which they conceived to have been thrust upon the Church most of them in disposing and adorning the Communion Table and the more reverent Administration of the holy Sacraments some of them positively required or at least directed by the Laws of the Land as reading the Communion Service at the Lords Table on Sundaies and Holidaies reading the Litany in the middest of the Church the Ministers turning toward the East in the Creed and Prayers and praying no otherwise before Sermons than in the words of the Canon some of them never having been disused in many Parochial Churches and retained in most Cathedrals since the Reformation as standing at the Hymns and the Gloria Patri placing the Table Altarwise and adoring toward it some being left indifferent at the choice of the Minister as the saying or singing of the Te Deum in Parochial Churches officiating the Communion and the dayly prayers in the Latine tongue in several Colledges and Halls by and amongst such as are not ignorant of that Language And others not of so great moment as to make any visible alteration in the face of the Church or sensible disturbance in the minds of the People Which therefore might have been as well forborne as practiced till confirmed by Authority or otherwise might have been borne without any such clamour as either out of ignorance or malice had been raised against them They also took into consideration some Rubricks in the Book of Common Prayer and other things which they thought sit to be rectified in it Amongst which they advised some things not to be utterly disliked viz. That the Hymns Sentences Epistles and Gospels should be reprinted according to the new Translation That the Meeter in the Psalms should be corrected and allowed of Publickly and that no Anthems should be sung in Colledges or Cathedral Churches but such as were taken out of the Scripture or the publick Liturgy That fewer Lessons might be read out of the Books called Apocryphal and the Lessons to be read distinctly exclusive of the Liberty which is given to sing them as appears by the Rubrick That the Rubrick should be cleared concerning the Ministers power for repulsing scandalous and notorious sinners from the holy Communion and that the general Confession before the Communion be ordered to be said by the Minister only the People repeating it after him That these words in the Form of Matrimony viz. With my body I thee worship may be explained and made more intelligible And that instead of binding the married Couple to receive the Communion on their Wedding day which is seldom done they may be obliged to receive it on the Sunday after or the next Communion day following That none be licenced to marry or have their Banes asked who shall not first bring a Certificate from their Minister that they are instructed in the Catechism and that it be not required that the Infant be dipt in the water as is injoyned by the Rubrick in the case of extremity Some Passages they observed impertinently and not worth the altering as the expunging of some Saints which they falsly called Legendaries out of the Kalendar The constant adding of the Doxology at the end of the Pater noster Reading of Morning and Evening Prayer dayly by the Curate if not otherwise letted The leaving out of the Benedicite and the changing of the Psalm used in the Churching of Women That those words which only workest great marvels be left out of the Prayer for the Bishops and Clergy That Grievous sins instead of Deadly sins be used in the Letany That the sanctifying of the Flood Iordan be changed into sanctifying the Element of water in the Form of Baptism That those words In sure and certain hope of Resurrection which are used at Burials may be changed to these knowing assuredly that the dead shall rise again And that the Commination should be read at the Desk and not in the Pulpit all which remaining as they did could give no offence and might have easily been changed to give some content And finally some things there were of which they desired a Reformation which seemed to have so much of the Anti-Papist that they came close to the Puritan viz. That the Vestments prescribed by the first Liturgy of King Edward vi should not be required and the rule in that case to be altered That the Alms should be gathered rather after than before the Communion These words This is my body This is my bloud not to be Printed in great Letters and that a Rubrick be inserted to declare that kneeling at the Communion is required only in relation to the Prayer of the distribution Preserve thee body and soul c. That weekly Communion every Sunday be changed to monthly in Colledges and Cathedral Churches That the Cross in Baptism be either explained or quite disused and that in the Form of Confirmation these words importing that Children baptized are undoubtedly saved be no longer used That no times of Restraint may be laid on Marriage And that the Authoritative Form of Absolution in the Visitation of the sick may be turned to a Pronouncing or declaring of it I have the longer stood on the result of these Consultations because of the different apprehensions which were had of the Consequents and Issue of them Some hoped for a great Reformation to be prepared by them and settled by the Grand Committee both in Doâ—â—â—iâ—e and Discipline and others as much feared the affections of the men considered that Doctrinal Calvinism being once settled more alterations would be made in the Publick Liturgy than at first appeared till it was brought more near the Form of the Gallick Churches after the Platform of Geneva Certain I am that the imprisoned Archbishop had no fancy to it fearing least the Assembly of Divines in Ierusalem-Chamber so the place was called might weaken the foundations of Ierusalem in the Church of England That this Assembly on the matter might prove the National Synod of England to the great dishonour of the Church and that when their Conclusions were brought unto the great Committee the business would be over-ruled by the Temporal