the Minister to reade seruice in conueniently placed a strong Chest with thrée lockes and thrée keyes one for the Minister the other for the Church-wardens for the kéeping of the Register Booke of the Christnings marriages and Burials and a poore mans box conueniently set néere the Church doore 5 Haue you in your Church a Font of stone for Baptisme set in the ancient vsuall place a decent Table for the Communion conueniently placed couered with silke or other decent stuffe in time of diuine seruice and with a faire linnen cloth ouer that at the administration of the Communion 6 Haue you all such Bells Ornaments and other Vtensils as haue anciently belonged to your Church a Communion Cup of Siluer with a Couer a faire standing Pot of Pewter or purer mettal for the wine vpon the Communion table a comely Surplesse with sleeues and a Booke of the names of all strange Preachers subscribed with their names and the name of the Bishop or others where they had licence 7 Haue you a booke of parchment for a Register books of Mariages Christnings and Burials Are wéekely the names and Sur-names of all persons married christned and buried and of their parents with the day and yeare written fairely in the sayd parchment booke Is euery leafe being full subscribed by you the Minister and Church-wardens 8 Haue you in the East-end of the Church the tenne Commandements fairly written and set up and other chosen sentences of the holy Scripture written vpon conuenient places of the wals Is there a table of the degrees of mariage sett up Haue you seates enough in the Church for the parishioners to fit on and are they in good repaire Concerning Ecclesiasticall Courts 1 HAth the Officiall or his surrogate or any other exercising Ecclesiasticall iurisdiction in this Archdeaconrie their Registers or Actuaries Apparitors or Sumners at any time wincked at and suffered any Adulteries Fornications Incests or other faults or offences to passe and remaine vnpunished and vncorrected or haue they commuted any pennance of such offendors 2 Hath your Register his deputy or substitute set vp two Tables of the rates of Fées one in the vsuall place or Consistory where the Court is kept and the other in his Registry and both of them in such sort as euery man whom it concerneth may come to the view and perusall thereof Or if such Tables haue heretofore béene set up hath your Register remoued the same or suffered them to be remoued hidden or any wayes hindred from sight 3 Doe you know any housholder or other person whatsoeuer within your Parish or Chappelrie that is deceased that haue made their last wills and testaments the same not being yet proued or if without will who haue entred vpon their goods without lawfull administration taken from the Ordinary or other Iudge competent Concerning Schoole-masters 1 HAue you in your Parish any Schoole-masters who teach either in publike schoole or in priuate house Is he reputed to be of sound faith and religion Doth he giue any euill example of life Is he allowed by the Ordinary vnder his hand and seale Or doth your Minister or Curate teach and is he allowed in like manner 2 Doth your Minister or Schoole-master who teacheth teach the Catechisme by authority set forth Doth hee when there is any Sermon or diuine Seruice bring his schollers to Church and sée them quietly and soberly ordered Doth hée examine them after their returne what they haue learned of the Sermon Concerning the Parish clarke and Sexton 1 HAue you a parish-clerke appointed by the Minister sufficient for his place of the age of twenty yeares at least Is he of honest conuersation Can he reade write and sing Is he diligent in his office and seruiceable to the Minister in time of diuine Seruice and otherwise 2 Doth your Clerke meddle with any thing aboue his office as churching of women burying the dead reading of prayers or such like 3 Doth your Clerk or Sexton kéep your Church cleane the doores safe locked Is any thing by his default lost or spoiled in the Church doth he suffer any vnreasonable ringing or any prophane exercise in the Church 4 Doth any of your Parish refuse to pay vnto the Parish-clerke or Sexton such wages as are vnto them due and haue beene accustomably payd Concerning parishioners 1 DOth any in your Parish prophane violate or mispend the Sabbath or Holidayes or any part of them vsing any offensiue conuersation or worldly labour in those dayes or any of them 2 Hath any in your Parish in time of diuine Seruice couered his head albeit he hath infirmity in which case a Cap is allowed Is there any who hath not reuerently knéeled when the generall Confession Letany and other prayers are read and which haue not stood vp at the saying of the Beléefe 3 Hath any in your Parish disturbed diuine Seruice by walking talking or any other way or departed out of the Church during the Seruice or Sermon without some vrgent cause or loitered about the Church or Church-porch 4 Are there any in your Parish either man or woman being aboue sixteene yeares of age that hath not receiued the holy Communion thrice at least euery yeare whereof once at Easter Or haue any receiued the Communion in any other Parish Church or Chappell than their owne 5 Doth any parent answer as God-father for his owne childe Hath any God-father or God-mother made any other answer or spéech than is prescribed in the booke 6 Doe all fathers mothers masters mistrisses come and cause their children seruants and Apprentices to come duly to the Church and according to the Ministers direction to be instructed and catechised or who be they that haue not obeyed the Minister herein 7 Haue any persons maried together within the degrées prohibited set forth in a table appointed to be in euery Church 8 Haue any persons once lawfully maried together forsaken each other or doe liue asunder without the authority of the Ordinary Or doe any being diuorced or separated marry againe the former husband or wife yet liuing 9 Hath any in your Parish vnreuerently vsed your Minister or haue any laid violent hands vpon him or disgraced his office and calling by word or deed 10 Haue you in your Parish any dweller or soiourner a maintainer of Popish doctrine or suspected to keepe or disperse schismaticke bookes or to fauour any heresie or error 11 Haue any in time of diuine Seruice opened their shops exercised their trades vsed any gaming béene in any Tauerne or Ale-house or otherwise ill imployed 12 Are there in your Parish any adulterers fornicators incestuous persons bawdes receiuers or close fauourers conueiers away or sufferers of any incontinent persons to depart vnpunished or any which haue their méetings in priuate places in the night time or other vndecent times and by reason thereof are commonly defamed or vehemently suspected of any of the said crimes 13 Is the fifth of Nouember kept holy and thanksgiuing made to God
The Forme of the Oath to be administred to the Church-wardens and Sworn-men YOu shall sweare that all hope of gaine feare and affection set aside you make true presentment of all such parties as have offended against these Articles or are vehemently suspected famed or reported so to have offended So helpe you God and the Contents of the holy Gospels God save the KING Concerning the Church of England ARe there any in your Parish that being Popishly affected doe derogate from his Maiesties supremacie in causes Ecclesiasticall who be they 2 Are there any in your Parish that out of factious and schismaticall spirits doe affirme that this Church of England by law established vnder the Kings Maiestie is not a true and Apostolicall Church teaching and maintaining the doctrine of the Apostles 3 Are there any in your parish that affirme that the forme of Gods worship in the Church of England established by the law and contained in the booke of Common prayer administration of Sacraments is a corrupt superstitious or vnlawfull worship of God or containeth any thing in it that is repugnant to the Scriptures 4 Are there any in your Parish that affirme that any of the 39 Articles agreed vpon by the Arch-Bishops and Bishops of both prouinces and the whole Clergie in the Conuocation holden at London Anno Dom. 1562. are in any part superstitious or erronious or such as with good conscience they may not subscribe vnto 5 Are there any in your Parish that affirme that the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England by Law established are wicked Antichristian or superstitious or such as being commanded by lawfull authority men that are zealously and godlily affected may not with good conscience approue them vse them or subscribe vnto them 6 Are there any in your parish that affirme that the gouernment of the Church of England vnder his Maiestie by Arch-Bishops Bishops Deanes Arch-deacons and the rest that beare office in the same is Antichristian or repugnant to the word of God 7 Are there any in your parish that impugne the forme or manner of making and consecrating Bishops Priests or deacons vsed in the Church of England 8 Are there in your Parish any Schismaticall Separatists new combined brotherhoods deprauers of such as conforme themselues to the doctrine gouernment rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England or any secret maintainers and fauourers of such separatists and new brotherhoods Are there any Corner Conuenticles or any that maintaine or fauour or defend them Are there any such factious people in your parish that disliking the gouernment of the Church of England take vpon themselues the name of Church and make orders rules or other constitutions to be obserued and kept by themselues Concerning the Ministrie Service and Sacraments 1 WHether are the common Prayers said or sung by your Minister both Morning and Euening distinctly and reuerently euery sunday and holy-day and on their Eues and at couenient and vsuall times of those dayes and in most conuenient place for the edifying of the people 2 Whether doth your Minister obserue the orders Rites and Ceremonies prescribed in the Booke of common Prayer in reading the Holy Scriptures prayers and administration of Sacraments without diminishing or adding any thing in the matter or forme thereof 3 Whether doth your Minister on wednesdayes and frydayes not being holydayes at the accustomed houres of seruice resorte to the Church and say the Letany and other prayers prescribed And doth your Clerke or Sexton giue warning before by tolling of a Bell on those dayes and doth one person of euery house repaire to the Church at those times usually and there stay according to the Cannon 4 Whether doth your Minister leauing the use of the Font Christen or baptize in any Bason or other prophane vessels doth your Minister baptize or Christen any out of the face of the Church and Congregation or at any other time then upon sundayes or holy-dayes without speciall cause or without Godfathers and God-mothers Are any persons admitted to answer as God-fathers or God-mothers at the Christning of any Child except he or she haue before receiued the Holy Communion doth your Minister in Baptizing of Children obserue the orders Rites and Ceremonies appointed in the Booke of Common prayer without addition omission or innovation 5 Doe you know any Parents that deferre the Christning of their Children or any that haue not had their Children Christned at their owne Parish Church or Chappell what is the cause that they keepe them so long vnchristned doe you know of any parents that haue had their children priuatly Baptized either by a Popish priest contrary to the Lawes of the Church of England or by an unconformable Minister omitting any part of the forme of Baptizing Children contained in the Booke of common prayer 6 Doth your Minister giue warning publikly in the Church at Morning prayer the sunday before he administreth the Communion for the better preparation of the parishioners 7 Doth your Minister as oft as he administreth the Communion first receiue it himselfe doth he use any bread or wine newly brought before the words of institution be rehearsed and the bread and wine present on the Communion table doth he not deliuer the bread and wine to euery Communicant seuerally 8 Hath your Minister admitted to the Cōmunion any that be openly knowne to liue in some notorious offence or Crime without repentance or satisfaction of the Congregatio◠or who hath openly and maliciously contended with his or her Neighbours before hée or shée haue openly and charitably reconciled themselues againe and remitted all rancour and malice whatsoeuer Controuersie hath beene betweene them 9 Doth your Minister administer the Communion to any but such as knéele or doe any refuse to knéele hath he administred to any who refuse to be present at publick prayer or who hath depraued the Booke of Common Prayer administration of the Sacraments or the Rites and Ceremonies prescribed or the Articles of Religion agréed upon or the Booke of Ordering Priests and Bishops or against his Maiesties supremacy haue any béene for these causes repelled and haue they repented in writing or otherwise and what be their names 10 Hath your Minister more benefices then one if he hath how farre distant are they and whether serues he two Cures or not when he is absent hath he an allowed Preacher for his Curat 11 Hath your Church or Chappell béene destitute of a Curate and how long and by whose default hath any Curate serued or doth any Curate serue without lycence of the Ordinary 12 Doe you know any Popish Priests Seminaries Iesuits or Runnagate persons that doe preach say Masse or minister any Popish Sacraments or Ceremonies or else doe resort secretly or openly unto your parish and what be their names and unto whose houses doe they resort and of whome are they harboured and reléeued set downe their Names and Sir-names 13 Is your Parson Vicar or Curate or any other
parson in your parish a fauourer of the Romish Church or Religion or of any other sect or Schismaticall opinion or hath he or doth he maintaine or teach any doctrine contrary or repugnant to any of the Articles agréed vpon by the Clergie in the Conuocation holden at London Anno Dom. 1562 haue they taught publikly or secretly any doctrine tending to the discredit and dispraise either of the Booke of Common prayer or of the Preachers and Ministers of the word and Sacraments or of the receiued order for gouernment by Arch-Bishops Bishops Deanes Arch-deacons and other Officers in the Church of England or make any other innouation Or haue they permitted any man so teaching or making innouation in such manner 14 Is your Minister an allowed Preacher if he be not doth he procure euery moneth a Sermon to be Preached in his Cure by Preachers lawfully licenced And on euery Sunday when there is no Sermon doth he or his Curate reade some one of the homilies prescribed 15 Doth your Minister alwaies in saying the publike prayers and administring the Sacraments weare a decent Surplice with sleeues and being a Graduate doth he weare alwaies there-with an Hoode by the order of the Vniuersities agréeable to his degrée 16 Hath your Minister or any other Preacher in your Church Preached any thing to confute or impugne any doctrine deliuered by any other Preacher and doth he alwaies before the Sermon Lecture and homilie pray for Christs Catholike Church The Kings Majesty and our Gracious Queene Mary the Noble Prince Charles the Lady Mary the Lady Elizabeth and Her Princely Issue The Ministers of Gods Holy word as well Arch-Bishops and Bishops as other Pastours and Curats for the Kings most Honourable Councell the Nobility and Magistrates of this Realme and the Commons And doth he alwaies conclude his prayer with the Lords prayer According to the Cannon 55 17 Hath or doth any strange Preacher preach in your Church which refuseth to conforme himselfe to the Lawes rites and Ordinances established or which hath not first shewed a sufficient licence 18 Doth your Minister in his Sermons 4 times in the yeare at least teach and declare the Kings Maiesties power within his Realmes to be the highest power vnder God to whom all within the same owe iust loyalty obedience and that all forraine power is iustly taken away 19 Doth your Minister euery Sunday halfe an hower before euening prayer or more examine and instruct the youth of the parish in the Catechisme set forth in the Booke of Common prayer And doe the Church-wardens assist the Minister héerein and who be they that refuse to be Catechized and what Parents haue not diligently sent their Children and seruants to be Catechized 20 Hath your Minister Married any without licence in the times prohibited and hath he married any without licence whose banes haue not béene openly published in the Church 3 seuerall sundayes or holydayes if any of the parties dwell out of the parish hath he married them without Certificate vnder the Ministers hand of the other parish that the banes of matrimony haue béene lawfully asked and published without contradiction hath he married any at any other times of the day then betwéene the howers of 8 and 12 in the forenoone or in any priuate house or when there is no licence before the Parents and Gouerners the parties being vnder the age of 21 yeares haue testified their consent 21 Hath your Minister declared euery sunday to the people at the time appointed what holy-dayes and fasting dayes be the weeke following doth he being a Preacher conferre with all Recusants and persons Excommunicated and suspected to reduce them to the vnity of the Church 22 Doth your Minister kéepe a note of all Excommunicated persons within your Parish and once euery six months doth he denounce them which haue not obtained their absolution on some sunday in seruice time that others may be admonished to refraine their company 23 Is your Parson Vicar or Curate dilligent in visiting the sicke and comforting them doe they bury your dead in such Christian and comely manner as is prescribed in the booke of Common prayer hath any layman other then a lawfull Minister taken vpon him to bury the dead contrary to order 24 Hath your Minister refused to baptize any child brought to the Church or to bury any Corps brought to the Church or Churchyard or to Church any woman hauing had conuenient warning thereof 25 Hath your Minister being truly informed of the danger of death of any Child vnbaptized and being desired to goe to the place where the Childe is to Baptize it neglected to goe by meanes whereof the Child dyed vnbaptized 26 Haue you any Lecture in your Parish continued without lawfull licence of the Bishop doth your Lecturer obserue all the rites specified in the 56 Canon 27 Doth your Minister at any time preach or administer the Communion in any priuate house except when any are so impotent that they cānot go to Church or are very dangerously sicke 28 Doe any Chaplaines in your parish preach or administer the Communion in any Chappell not consecrated or in any house hauing no Chappell allowed by law doe the Lords and Masters that haue priuate Chappels of their owne resort often to the parish Church and there receiue the Communion at the least once euery yeare 29 Doth your Minister reside vpon his Parsonage or Vicarage house 30 Hath there béene any secret Conuenticles or méetings in your parish by any Priests Ministers or others tending to the deprauation of the forme of prayer doctrine or gouerment of this Church of England Concerning the Church Church-yard Parsonage and Vicarage house 1 WHether is your Church Chappell and Chancell well and sufficiently repaired in the walls and roofe the seates conuenient the floore paued the windowes glazed and all these cleanely kept Is the Mansion house of your Parson or Vicar with the buildings thereunto belonging well and sufficiently repaired and your Church-yard walls Railes or pales kept in good repare 2 Hath your Church or Church-yard béene abused prophaned by any fighting chiding brawling or quarelling any playes lords of mis-rule Summer lords Morris-dauncers Pedlers Bowlers Bearewards Butchers Feasts Schooles Temporall Courts or Léets Lay Iuries Musters or other prophane vsage Haue any Bells béene superstitiously rung on holy-dayes or their Eues or at any other times without good cause allowed by the Minister and Church-wardens haue any trées béene fell'd in the Church-yard and by whom 3 Are your Almes-houses Church-houses schoole-houses or other houses and buildings set vpon the soile of the Church or Church-yard sufficiently repaired maintained and to godly and right vse imployed 4 Haue you in your Church or Chappell all things necessary for Common prayer and other Rites of the Church as the Bible in the largest volume the Booke of Comon Prayer lately authorized by his Maiesty the Bookes of homilies allowed a conuenient Pulpit for preaching a decent seate for
for his Maiesties and the States happy deliuerance according to the Ordinance in that behalfe 14 Are there in your Parish any blasphemers common swearers ribaudes and such as commonly vse bawdy immodest vnciuill and filthy spéeches malicious slanderers scolds common drunkards or any defamed of any of the said crimes 15 Doe any in your Parish administer the goods of the dead without authority or suppresse their Will and Testament Haue any Executors neglected to performe the wils of the dead especially in paying of Legacies giuen to the Church to the poore or to any other charitable or godly vses 16 Doe any refuse to pay to the reparations ornaments and other things required in your Church as they are cessed or taxed 17 Haue any in your Parish béene christned churched buried or receiued the Communion or béene maried out of your Parish both parties dwelling in your Parish 18 Haue all women in your Parish deliuered of child come at conuenient time after to Church to giue thankes And haue they béene Churched according to the forme of the booke of Common Prayer 19 Hath the perambulation of the circuit of your Parish béene obserued once euery yeare at the vsuall time If not by whose default 20 Haue any in your Parish giuen to the Church-wardens or Side-men or any of them euill words for doing their Office according to their Oath and conscience in making presentment for any default 21 Is there any man or woman in your Parish that vseth witchcraft sorcery charmes or vnlawfull prayer or incantations in Latine or English or otherwise vpon any Christen body or beast or any that resorteth to such persons for counsell or helpe Concerning Church-wardens and Sworne-men 1 DOe any in your Parish take vpon them to bee Church-warden or Sides-man which is not lawfully chosen by the Minister and Parishioners according to the Canon Doe any continue that office longer than one yeare except they be chosen againe and are al such officers chosen yearely in Easter-wéek 2 Do your Church-wardens within one moneth at the most after their yeare ended before the Minister and Parishioners giue vp a iust account of all such money and other things as they haue receiued and bestowed Haue they deliuered all remaining in their hands belonging to the Church or Parish to the next Church-wardens 3 Haue the Church-wardens with the aduice of the Minister from time to time prouided a sufficient quantity of fine white bread and wholesome wine for the number of communicants Haue you at euery Communion collected the deuotion of the Communicants and put it into the poore-mans-box 4 Doe the Church-wardens and sworne-men before euery visitation and at other times when there is iust occasion meete and conferre about their presentments and who hath after notice giuen him of the time and place carelesly absented himselfe 5 Is the forfeiture of twelue pence for absence from the Church appointed by state for the vse of the poore taken and leuyed by the Church-wardens and imployed according to the said statute Is the same forfeiture taken of all persons which stand wilfully suspended or excommunicated 6 Haue any Church-wardens lost sold changed or retained any goods ornaments or bels rents or implements of the Church without speciall licence of the Ordinary 7 Doe you the Church-wardens and Swornemen about the midst of Diuine seruice vsually walke out of the Church and see who are abroad in any Ale-house or else where absent or euill imployed and haue you presented all such to the Ordinary 8 Doe you know or haue heard of any fame or offence committed or duty omitted by any of your Parish before your time and heretofore not presented by the former Church-wardens to the Ordinary and as yet not reformed and haue you presented the same FINIS