reign with Christ in the Heavens are to be venerated and invok'd by the Faithful desiring of God a Remedy for our wants through their Intercession and of them that they would intercede for us which they do daily by offering up our Prayers and Petitions to God That the Bodies and Reliques of Saints ought to be had in veneration in being carefully kept kissed and adored by the Faithful and placed under the Holy Altars and other consecrated places upon the account of their having been lively Members of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit and because they are to be raised again at the day of Judgment and and clothed with Eternal Glory in Heaven and God vouchsafes many Blessings upon Earth by them CHAP. XI FUrthermore That the Images of our Lord Christ and of our Lady the Glorious Virgin Mary and of the Holy Angels that are painted after our manner and of other Saints which the Church believes to be in Heaven ought to be kept and used in all decent places not only in the houses of the Faithful but chiefly in Churches and Altars and to be reverenced and adored with due veneration and with the same that is due to the Persons they represent not that we believe that there is any thing of Divinity or * Virtue If there is nothing of Virtue in one Image more than another why do People go so many hundred miles to pray to some particular Images of the Virgin Mary when there is scarce a Church or Chappel in their way wherein there is not an Image of her Virtue in them for which they ought to be honoured or that we put our Hope and Confidence in them as the * Heathens The Learned Heathens made the very same declaration concerning their worshipping of Images Heathens did in their Idols but because the Honour which we pay to them referrs to what they represent so that in prostrating our selves before their Images we adore Christ and reverence the Saints whose Images they are In like manner we adore the sign of the Cross with the Worship of †Latria The saying that this Latria or Supream worship is only Relative cannot excuse it from being Idolatrous without excusing the grossest Worship among the Heathen it being impossible in Nature to give any other Worship than what is relative to an Image when worshipped as such Martinus Peresius Aila Bishop of Guidez in Spain in the third part of his Book of Traditions p. 223. passeth a severe but just censure upon the Worship here established Cujus doctrinae nullum quod ego viderim afferunt validum fundamentum quod possit fideles ad id quod docent obligari Nam neque Scripturam neque Tracitionem Ecclesiae neque communem sensum sanctorum neque Concilii Generalis determinationem aliquam nec etiam rationem quâ hoc efficaciter suaderi possit adducunt Et p. 226. Certe haud dissimile imò fortè majâ—s scandalum infirmis paratur qui has distinctiones prorsus ignorant nec possunt nisi errando intelligere ut ego ipse in multis simplicibus experimento deprehendi cum ab eis sciscitarer quid de hac re sentirent in eo quod dicitur eâdem adoratione adorandum esse Imaginem quâ rem cujus est Nam cum videant simulachrum operosè sculptum affabrè expolitum in eminenti loco templi positum ipsumque à multitudine veneratum super haec audiant quòd eodem honore debeat honorari quo res cujus est colitur certè in multis simplicibus periculosissimus erroris affectus facilè potest adgenerari quo putent aliquid Numinis latere in imagine sic quoque rei repraesentatae tum nomen tum gloriam ad imaginem facilè possunt transferre quod maximè periculosum esse judico Latria which is due only to God because it is a sign representing the Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross and which he himself hath told us will be the sign of the Son of Man in the Day of Judgment and with the same Worship of Latria we adore the Images of our Lord Jesus Christ because they represent him CHAP. XII FUrthermore the Church professeth that every Person as soon as he is born hath a Guardian Angel given him whose business it is to excite People to what is good and to deliver them from many evils which they would otherwise have fallen into which Angel protects and accompanies People through their whole lives doing all it can to keep them from Sin and all other Evils that so it may bring them to Eternal Life and is always suggesting good things to their Free Will from which we receive many Blessings as well Spiritual as Temporal notwithstanding we neither see them nor understand how they do it and these we call our Guardian Angels CHAP. XIII FUrthermore That the Catholick Church is one and the same all over the World having for its Pastor the chief Bishop of Rome Successor in the Chair of the Blessed Prince of the Apostles St. Peter to whom and by him to his Successors our Lord Jesus Christ delivered the full power of ruling and governing his whole Church from whence it is that the Roman Church is the Head of the whole Church and the Father Master and Doctor of all Christians and the Prelate of all in common and of all Priests Bishops Archbishops Primates and Patriarchs of whatsoever Church they are as also the Pastor of all Emperors Kings Princes and Lords In a word of all that are Christians and of all the Faithful People Hence it is that all that are not under the Obedience of the said Roman Bishop the Vicar of Christ upon Earth are out of a state of Salvation and shall be condemned to Hell as Hereticks and Schismaticks for their Disobedience to the Commands of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order that he left in his Church CHAP. XIV FUrthermore that One and the same God is the Author of the New and Old Testament of the Prophets and the Gospels the Saints of both those Testaments being inspired in the Writing of them with the same Holy Spirit and so the Catholick Church receives all the Canonical Books of both Testaments which contain in them nothing but what is infallibly true and was dictated by the Holy Spirit To wit of the Old Testament the five Books of Moses Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy as also Joshua the two Books of Judges Ruth the four Books of Kings the two Books of Chronicles the first Book of Esdras the second which is called Nehemias Tobit Judith Esther Job the Psalms of David being 150 the Proverbs Ecclesiastes the Song of Songs the Book of Wisdom Ecclesiasticus the four greater Prophets viz. Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel the twelve lesser viz. Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi and the first and second of Maccabees and of the New Testament St. Matthew
St. Mark St. Luke and St. John the Acts of the Apostles writ by St. Luke the fourteen Epistles of St. Paul viz. One to the Romans two to the Corinthians one to the Galatians one to the Ephesians one to the Philippians one to the Colossians two to the Thessalonians two to Timothy one to Titus one to Philemon and to the Hebrews two of the Apostle St. Peter three of the Apostle St. John one of the Apostle St. James one of the Apostle St. Jude and the Revelation of the Apostle St. John all which Books with all their parts are Canonical and contain in them nothing but what is infallibly true Decree II. THe Synod declareth that in the Books of the New Testament used in this Church and writ in the Syrian or Syriack Tongue there is wanting in the Gospel of St. John the beginning of the 8th Chapter the History of the Adulteress that was carried before our Lord Christ as also in the 10th of St. Luke where it is said that Christ sent seventy two Disciples it is said he sent seventy Disciples and in the 6th of St. Matthew the words For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever is added to the end of the Lord's Prayer there is also wanting in the said Books the second Epistle of St. Peter the second and third Epistles of St. John and that of Jude and the Revelation of St. John and in the 4th Chapter of the first Epistle of St. John this Verse is wanting having been impiously left out Qui solvit Jesum non est ex Deo and in the 5th Chapter of the same Epistle these words are wanting There are three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are One and in the Old Testament there are wanting the Books of Esther Tobit and Wisdom all which the Synod commandeth to be translated and the passages that are wanting to be restored to their Purity according to the Chaldee Copies which are emended and the Vulgar Latin Edition made use of by holy Mother Church that so this Church may have the Holy Scriptures entire and may use it with all its parts as it was written and as it is to be used in the Universal Church to which end the Synod desireth the Reverend Father Francisco Roz of the Society of Jesus and Professor of the Syrian Tongue in the College of Vaipicotta in this Bishoprick that he would be pleased to take the trouble thereof upon him for which he is so well qualified by reason of his great skill both in the Syrian Language and the Scripture Decree III. WHereas the Holy Scriptures are the Pillars that support our Holy Faith and as it were the Foundations whereon it stands and wherein the Truth and Purity thereof is to be met with which has made all Hereticks in their endeavours to destroy the said Faith constantly and industriously to corrupt the Text of the Divine Scriptures partly by taking away such passages as did manifestly contradict their Errors and by perverting other places so as to make them * Seem to favour them It is hard to give any other reason than this why the Church of Rome tho' since the time of the Council of Trent she has corrected some hundreds of Errors in the Vulgar Latin did not think fit to correct that in the 3d. of Genesis which they apply to the Virgin Mary nor that in the 11th of Isaiah which they make use of to promote Pilgrimages to Jerusalem nor that in the 11th to the Hebrews which seems to make for the Adoration of Images nor that in the first Chapter of the 2d Epist of St. Peter which seems to give some countenance to the Invocation of Saints seem to favour them which hath also happened in this Bishoprick through its having been governed by Bishops who were Nestorian Hereticks and that used the same practices upon the Holy Scriptures that were in their hands in favour of their Heresies as in the 20th of the Acts of the Apostles where St. Paul saith Take heed to your selves and the whole Church over which the Holy Spirit hath made you Bishops to rule the Church of God which he purchased with his Blood the word God is impiously changed for that of Christ and it is said that Christ hath made them to govern his Church which he purchased with his own Blood because the Nestorians being instigated by the Devil will not acknowledge according to the Catholick Truth that God suffered and shed his Blood for us and in the fourth Chapter of the first Epistle of St. John this Verse is left out Qui solvit Jesum non est ex Deo because it contradicts the Nestorians who do impiously divide Christ by making him to have two Persons and in the 3d. Chap. of the same Epistle where it is said In this we know the Love of God because he laid down his Life for us the word God is maliciously left out and that of Christ put in its stead saying That in this we know the Love of Christ c. and so it favours the Nestorian Heresie which denies God to have dyed for us and in the 2d Chap. of the Epistle to the Hebrews where the Apostle saith We have seen Jesus for the Passion of his Death crowned with glory and honour that he by the Grace of God should taste death foâ— all men the Surian the better to make a difference of Persons in Christ which was what Nestorius taught has impiously added VVe have seen Jesus for the passion of his death crowned with honour and glory that the Grace of God praeter Deum or besides God might taste death for all and in the 6th of St. Luke where our Lord Christ saith Lend hoping for nothing again to favour and justifie their Usury they have made it Lend and from thence hope for something All which places being depraved and corrupted by Hereticks the Synod commandeth to be corrected in all their Books and to be restored according to the Purity and Truth of the Vulgar Edition used by Holy Mother Church entreating the most Illustrious Metropolitan forthwith to visit the Churches of this Diocess either in Person or by some well skilled in the Syrian Tongue whom he shall be pleased to depute Decree IV. THe Synod being informed that the Christians of this Diocess by reason of the Communication they have with Infidels and by living among them have imbibed several of their Errors and Ignorances namely three that are the common Errors of all the Infidels of these parts the first is That there is a * Transmigration This was not the Doctrine of this Church as appears plainly from what is said in twenty places of this Synod of her believing that the Souls of the Just departed this Life were in a Terrestrial Paradise where they were to remain till the day of Judgment Transmigration of Souls which after Death go either into the Bodies
comprehend the word Enim which the Church of Rome adds to the Consecration of the Body and Blood for besides that there is the †Tradition This is what she confidenâ—ly pretends to have for all her Nâ—â—elties Cardinal Bâ—â—a in the 23 Chap. of his first Book of Litargies passeth the following true judgment upon the common practice of the Church of Rome in all such Matters Orta deinde est 4 ferè seculis post 6 Synod â—mconâ—roveâ—sia de Azymo fermentato diu agitata inter Graecâ—s Latinos partium potius quam veritatis inveniende studio ut in similibus fieri solet atque hinc factum est ut pertinaciter contenderint suam quisque consuetudinem à Christo ab Apostolis ad nostra usque tempora derivari sed si omissis hac de re Scholasticorum subtilitatibus argumentis quae apud ipsos legi possunt veritatem sincerè sine affectu ad alterutram partem ex veterum Patrum monumentis ex praxi Ecclesiae investigare voluerimus inveniemus proculdubio quam parvi momenti sint in re quae à facto pendet Doctorum speculationes tum perspicuè cognoscemus multum interesse inter tempora quae praecesserunt quae postea secuta sunt eâ—sque turpiter errare qui ex praesenti rerum statu omnem aestimant antiquitatem which is what the Church of Rome has done above these 600 Years and will do for all that Cardinal Bona or any body else can tell her of the unreasonableness of it But the Cardinal goes on Quis non videt Scholasticos ad hanc rem pertractandam prâ—occupatis mentibus accessisse cum enim ab infantia sola azyma offerri viderint eaque sola in scholis in exedris praedicari audierint ea sola semper in usu fuisse crediderunt hoc posito varias subinde convenientias variaque argumenta excogâitrunt ut quod semel conceperant firmius stabilirent Never was there a truer description given of any thing than this the Cardinal gives of the Genius of the People that defend the Novelties of the Church of Rome Tradition of the Holy Apostles for our Lord Christ's having used it in the Consecration of the Body and that St. Matthew also relates it in the Consecration of the Cup it is no Clause or distinct Sentence but a conjunction to a Sentence of the words of Christ which immediately follow As also the word Aeterni in the Consecration of the Cup and the words Mysterium Fidei which tho' not mentioned by the Evangelists yet as it is proved by Apostolical Tradition were used by our Lord Christ in the Consecration of the Cup and for that reason the Holy Church continues to use them in the same but as for the words added to the Consecration of the Cup in the Syrian Missal Et hoc erit vobis pignus in saecula saeculorum they being no where in any of the four Evangelists nor in any Book of the New Testament and it not appearing to the Church by Apostolical Tradition that Christ used them in that Consecration the Synod doth prohibit them to be used therein any more but the words in themselves being good and Holy and agreeable to what Holy Church singeth of this Divine Sacrament that it is the pledge of the Glory that we expect that we may keep to the Old Missal so far as the sincerity of the Faith and the purity of this Divine Sacrifice will permit the Priest shall say them after the elevation of the Cup where making a profound Reverence he shall begin the following Prayers with them only changing the word Vobis which was used as spoke by Christ for Nobis as spoke by himself saying Hoc erit nobis pignus and for the words in saecula saeculorum which follow they being commonly said in the Church of such Matters only as are to last for ever or are wished to be Eternal seeing the use of this Divine Sacrament as well as of the rest is to continue but to the end of the World they having been instituted only as a remedy for our Spiritual necessities in this life for in the other we are to see our Lord no more under Sacramental Species but clearly as he is neither shall we in Heaven eat this Divine Bread of Angels Sacramentally but shall eat as the Angels do in the Vision of the Divine Word The words in saecula saeculorum shall be therefore left out and instead thereof shall be put usque ad consummationem saeculi saying hoc erit nobis pignus usque ad consummationem saeculi the Sacrament being a pledge only for so long as we do not see the Glory that we hope for but is and ever will be such a pledge in this life Christ having promised to his Church that he will be with her to the end of the World so that the Divine Sacraments which were instituted for our benefit can never fail till then after these words the Priest shall go on with what immediately follows in the Mass Gloria tibi Domine gloria tibi and so on Furthermore in the Consecration of the Cup there is added to the words of Christ novi testamenti qui pro vobis c. novi aeterni testamenti mysterium fidei qui pro vobis pro multis c. Therefore the Synod doth command That the words of Consecration of the Body and Blood be reformed and put in all their Missals according to the Canon of the Roman Missal used in the Universal Church without the least addition or diminution and with the same Adorations Inclinations and Ceremonies as are in the Roman Missal Furthermore where the Priest saith Dominus Deus noster quando spirabit in nobis odor suavissimus it is said in the same Prayer cum animae nostrae veritatis tuae scientiâ fuerint illustratae tunc occurremus dilecto filio tuo c. speaking of the day of Judgment it shall be said Cum corporae nostra veritatis tuae splendore fuerint illustrata tunc occurremus dilecto filio tuo the Souls of the Just being illuminated and glorified in Heaven before the day of Judgment which is the time when the Bodies receive their Glory this Passage seeming to allude to the Nestorian Heresie which teacheth that the Souls of the Just do not see God nor are Glorified nor are in Bliss before the day of Judgment Furthermore where the Deacon saith Orando pro sanctis patribus nostris Patriarchâ nostro pastore universalis totius Ecclesiae Catholicae meaning the Schismatick of Babylon Episcopo hujus Metropolis it shall be said Pro sanctis Patribus nostris beatissimo Papâ nostro totius Ecclesiae Catholicae pastore naming him by his Name Episcopo hujus Metropolis naming him also Ministris ipsorum and a little lower where the Deacon praying saith praecipuè nos oportet orare pro incolumitate Patrum nostrorum sanctorum domini
Sacrifice having been instituted for the health and remedy of the Living and of the Dead Wherefore the Synod doth exhort all the Faithful of this Bishoprick to accustom themselves to procure * Masses Private Masses are not only a flat contradiction to the Primitive Practice but to the very Office wherein they are celebrated all that Office being made in the name of a Congregation not only as present but as communicating A demonstration that the Offices of the Roman Church are older than her Errors it is plain likewise from the very Canon of the Mass that when that Office was composed Transubstantiation was not so much as dreamt of in the Roman Church but as to the thing in hand Cardinal Bona in the 3 Chap. of his 1 Book of Liturgies saith Ab initio Sacrificium principaliter institutum fuit ut publicè ac solemniter fi ret Clero populo astante ac communicante ipse tenor Misse veteris Ecclesiae praxis evincunt omnes enim Orationes atque ipsa Canonis verba in plurali numero tanquam plurium nomine proferuntur hinc sacerdos populum invitat ad Orationem dicens Oremus post Communionem ait quod ore sumpsimus c. Suntque ferè omnes ejusdem tenoris Orationes quae peractâ Communione recitantur And in the 18th Chap. of the same Book he saith Solenne hoc fuit in utrâque Ecclesia Graeca Latinâ ut unum idem Sacrificium a pluribus interdum Sacerdotibus celebraretur Episcopo enim sive Presbytero celebrante reliqui quotquot aderant Episcopi seu Presbyteri simul celebrabant ejusdemque Sacrificii participes erant c. And a little after he adds Cur autem desierit ille mos causa mihi videtur fuisse primo quidem quod fundatis ordinibus mendicantibus longè latéque propagatis multiplicata sunt ones a Missarum atque adeo necesse fuit singulos Sacerdotes ut iis satisfacerent singulis diebus privatim celebrare deinde quia charitas multorum refrixit cessarit etiam frequens accessus ad hoc Sacramentum adeo ut hodie nec ipsi quidem ministri in plerisque Ecclesiis Communicent licet Sacrificio cooperantur To which the Cardinal might have added the Introduction of the Doctrine of Purgatory and the consequent Doctrine of Masses being the most effectual means of delivering the Souls out of the Torments thereof So John the IV. of Portugal ordered ten thousand Masses to be said for his Soul as soon as he was dead Masses to be said for the Souls of their deceased Friends and to leave something by Will that they may have Masses said for their own Souls which will be much more profitable for them than the Feasts that they used to make for their Kindred and others invited to their Funerals which Custom shall be left off and instead thereof they shall give a Dole to the Poor which is also very profitable to the Souls of the departed And that the Decree relating to such Masses may have its due effect the Synod doth command That all that shall be found to have died worth 2000 Fanoins and have left nothing for a certain number of Masses to be said for their Souls shall have so much taken out of their Estates before they shall be divided among the Heirs as shall procure the saying of five Masses for their Souls which shall be deposited by the Executors in the hands of the Church-wardens by them to be distributed among five Priests that they may be the sooner said and where there are more than five Priests the Alms shall be given to the five Eldest there not being sufficient to divide among them all and where there is only the Vicar of the Church the whole shall be given to him which Custom of procuring Masses to be said for the Souls of the Faithful departed this Life as it is used in the Universal Church so it is what this Synod is extreamly desirous to introduce into this Bishoprick wherein it has been totally disused recommending this Matter earnestly to the Preachers and Confessors to persuade all Christians to it in their Sermons and Confessions and to the Vicars to do the same in their Admonitions ACTION VI. Of the Holy Sacrament of Penance and Extream Unction THe Fourth Sacrament is that of Penance in which the Acts of the Penitent are as it were the Matter and are distinguished into these three parts Contrition of Heart Confession of the Mouth and Satisfaction for Sins according to the direction of the Confessor It belongs to the Contrition of the heart that the Penitent be sorry at his Soul for the Sins that he has committed and detesting them is firmly resolved not to commit them any more which Contrition tho' it sometimes happen to be perfect through Charity so as to reconcile one to God even before he has actually received the Sacrament of Confession yet it can never be perfect nor a means of reconciliation with God if not attended with a readiness and purpose of mind to confess those very sins which it is conversant about such sins being no less subject than others to the Keys and the ingagements to Confession It belongs to the Confession of the mouth that the Penitent Confess himself entirely to his own Priest as to all the sins that he remembers using all due diligence according to the length of the time since he last Confessed himself and this Confession is not to be only of sins in general nor only of the Species of them but of every sin in particular and as far as the Penitent is able to remember of their number declaring withal all the aggravating Circumstances and all such as change the Species in a word all mortal sins how secret soever tho' only in thoughts and wicked desires as also all faults committed against the two last Commandments Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife Thou shalt not covet any thing that is anothers such sins being at some times more dangerous for the Soul than others that are open all which we are commanded to do by the Divine Law our Saviour when he ascended into Heaven leaving the Priests for his Vicars upon Earth and constituting them Judges before whom all mortal sins committed by Christians were to be brought that by the power of the Keys which he committed to them to forgive or retain sins they may pronounce Sentence which cannot be just and Righteous neither can the punishments they impose be equal or proportionated to the Nature of the Faults without their having a full knowledge of the same as of the matter that they pass Sentence upon which knowledge cannot be had but by the Penitents confessing all and every Mortal Sin whereon Judgment is to pass not only in general but in specie and number making mention of every such Sin in particular with all its necessary circumstances that so a just sentence o◠absolution or retention may be pronounced upon
Arcadio 1 Bispo do Orenes en san Maria Madre autro tanto como este esta en san Payo de Santiago com istas mismas letras destos Santos Martyres That is to say This is the Portraiture of the Altar which the Apostle St. James left with an Inscription upon it to his Disciples who carried another of the same Dimensions and with the same Inscription along with him to Sea upon which his Holy Body was laid and Arcadius the first Bishop of Orenes said Mass upon it in the Church of St. Mary the Mother of God the other which is the same with this is in the Church of St. Payo of Compostella with the same Names of these Holy Martyrs I hope the Reader will pardon me if I offer one or two more instances of the same Nature In the Spanish Martyrology upon the 22d of May it is said Sanctus Publius Bebius Venustus Martyr qui pontem in honorem templi beatae Mariae condidit petente Ordine Oretanorum ut pateret aditus ad Templum XX. CHS in quo ponte suae Pietatis hujusmodi in visceribus lapidis Monumentum reliquit P. BAEBIUS VENUSTUS P. BAEBIIVENETIEP BAESISCERIS NEPOS ORETANUS PETENTE ORDINE ET POPULO IN HONOREM DOMUS DIVINAE PONTEM FECIT EX HS XXC. CIRCENSIBUS EDITIS D. D. This needs no Commentary it being plain from the Monument it self that this P. BAEBIVS was a Heathen and that Domus Divina herein mentioned was not a Church dedicated to the blessed Virgin but to some Heathen god And at Ebora in Portugal St. Viarius who infallibly cures all pains in the Loins and for that reason is very much prayed to was raised out of such another Heathen Roman Monument whereon Viarum Curator was writ as Resendius tells us But as in some places they have made Saints of Heathens in others they have made Heathens of Saints For in the Castle of Liria in Portugal there is over the Inner Gate a Stone Statue with a long inscription under it of which there is nothing legible from the ground but the word Veneris which is very plain the Portugueze who shewed us the place for we were several Protestants in Company told us very gravely that the Castle was built by the Romans and that the Statue we saw so much defaced the Head and Arms being broke of and the Body very much malled with Stones was the Statue of the Roman Goddess Venus we kept our Countenances as well as we could perceiving plainly that neither the Castle nor the Statue were Roman work and the Letters of Veneris were perfectly Gothick so I and two more having industriously lost our Portugueze we resolved if possible to find out the truth of the matter and after some poring we began to discover some more Letters and with some pains spell out the word Ante after Veneris whereupon we concluded that Veneris there must be a Verb and not a Substantive and that Veneris ante must be the end of a Monkish Verse and we were quickly satisfied that it was so by what followed which was Pertransire cave nisi prius dixeris Ave Regina coeli mater What followed was so defaced that we could make nothing of it neither indeed were we solicitous about it being abundantly satisfied from what we had read that it was a Statue of the most Blessed Virgin when we returned to our Portugueze we asked him as we did the People also at our Inn how he came to know certainly that it was the Statue of a Heathen Goddess and we found him and them all in the same Story that the Name of the Goddess was written under it and that it was the constant Tradition of the City and Country nothing known only it is commonly said That they came into these Parts and wrought wrought Miracles and returned afterwards to Babylon from whence they came others affirming that they died in Coulaon there being nothing writ of them that is Authentick neither does it appear that they were ever canonized by the Church but on the contrary since they came from Babylon there is just cause to suspect that they might be Hereticks Wherefore the Synod doth command That all the Churches which are dedicated to them be dedicated to all the Saints and that the Festivities used to be kept to their Honour and the Nerchas that used to be given upon their days shall be given on All Saints day being the first of November and for the future there be no more Churches dedicated to them Churches and Festivities being never to be dedicated nor Prayers made to any but to Saints canonized and approved of by the Church Decree XXVI WHereas Experience has demonstrated that many Churches have been Robbed by reason of the Poors Box being kept in them and not opened in many Years no not when the necessities of the Churches did require it therefore the Synod doth command That in every Church upon the first of January there be chose four substantial and consciencious Men to be Overseers of the Poor and to take care of the Church who at the end of the Year shall open the Poors Box and take out all the Alms they find therein which shall be put down in a Book by one of the four Overseers and the said Alms shall be afterwards put into a Chest Locked with three different Keys which shall stand in any one of their Houses as they shall agree of which Keys the Vicar shall have one and the other two the two Overseers who are not the Scrivener nor in whose Houses the Chest is not kept He that 's the Scrivener shall also have a Book in which he shall set down the Expences of the said Alms how much has been laid out upon the Fabrick of the Church and in the reparation of the Walls and Roof how much in adorning it and in necessary Linen and in Pictures and in keeping it clean And whensoever there is any great extraordinary Expence it shall not be made without the consent of the four Overseers according to custom neither shall the Chest be opened but when they are all five present or some one in the place of him that is lawfully hindred and when new Overseers are chose the old ones shall deliver the said Chest to them for which the Elect shall give a Receipt that so it may always appear how much has been received and how much is remaining And the Prelate in his Visitation shall look over the said Books and inform himself of the Expences and may order the Alms to be disposed of as he shall think fit and necessary And the Synod intreats the most Reverend Metropolitan to see that this Decree be put in execution at the Visitation he intends to make it being a thing of great advantage to the Churches Decree XXVII WHereas most of the Churches of this Diocess are kept very Nasty being full of Dust and Cobwebs for want of an Officer to keep the Church clean therefore the Synod
for the Churches that are in the Heaths the Vicars shall give orders that the Children or at least such of them as are nighest to the Church shall upon a certain day of the Week come to learn the Doctrine employing others persons to instruct the rest therein and the Schoolmasters that teach Syrian or that teach to read and write shall every day before they begin School repeat the said Doctrine to their Scholars in Malabar neither shall any inferior Orders no not the first Tonsure be given to Children before they can say the whole Doctrine in Malabar in which they must be examined according to the Holy Council of Trent and in all Church s there shall be a Book of the * Doctrine The Christians of Malabar would certainly lose the second Commandment by receiving this Roman Doctrine in which that Commandment never appears no not as part of the first nay in the Tridentine Catechism tho' writ in Latin and for the use of Parish-Priests there is only the three first words of it mentioned and I do not believe there is one Priest of a thousand in Spain or Portugal who if they should have the whole Second Commandment repeated to them would not say what I have heard more than one and those very grave Priests too say of it That it might be John Calvin's but they were sure it was none of God's Commandments Doctrine in the Malabar Tongue for the instruction of Children which the Synod doth entreat the Father Rector of the College of Jesuits of Vaipicotta to order to be translated by some of that College commanding all the Churches of this Diocess as also exhorting all the Christians thereof at Night to cause the said Doctrine to be taught in their Houses to their whole Families that so their Servants and Slaves may be instructed therein and the Confessors in their Confessions must not fail to examine their Penitents in the Doctrine and to exhort them to learn it Decree XIX THat the Faithful Christians in this Diocess may in their Common Prayer be conformable to the whole Catholick Church they must not from henceforward say the Ave Mary as they have been taught by the Perfidious Nestorians but must say it thus Ave Mary full of Grace the Lord be with thee blessed art thou among Women blessed is Jesus the fruit of thy Womb Holy Mother of God pray for us Sinners now and at the hour of our Death Amen Jesus And in this form it shall be inserted into all the Prayer Books of this Diocess Decree XX. VVHereas the Christians of this Diocess do not shew the least Reverence to the most Holy Name of Jesus when it is mentioned which ariseth from the false Doctrine of the Nestorian Hereticks who do impiously assert That it is not worthy of Reverence being the Name of a Humane Person teaching falsly that there are two Persons in Christ therefore since that Divine Name contains in it so many Divine Mysteries being the Name of our Redemption and the Name above all Names At which St. Paul saith every knee in Heaven and in Earth and below the Earth ought to bow the Synod doth command that as often either in the Gospel or Prayers of the Mass or Offices or any where else that that Name is mentioned all People do reverently bow their Body whether they be sitting or standing and the Clergy and other Christians having their Caps on shall take them off and the Vicars and Preachers must not neglect to put their People frequently in mind thereof and whereas the Name Lyo is the same with the most sweet Name of Jesus in the Malabar Language and is commonly given to Children in Baptism the Synod doth strictly prohibit the giving of that Name to any body for the future commanding all that are called by it to take another Name in Confirmation or at any other time it being a great irreverence for any one to be called by so high and Divine a Name Decree XXI WHereas it is necessary that the Feast of Christ's Nativity should be celebrated with great solemnity and uniformity through the whole Catholick Church the Synod doth command that on the Eve of that Festivity all the Clergy and People do assemble together in the Church there to say the Matins with the greatest Solemnity possible and that after they have done these Prayers which shall end about Midnight they shall make the customary Procession which being over a Solemn Mass shall be said with all possible Festivity after which the Priest may say a Mass at break of day and a third at the usual time of Mass for the Priest must know that for the greater Solemnity of this Festival they are permitted to say three Masses upon it that is one at Midnight one at break of day and a third at the ordinary time or being private Masses all three together after break of day but being publick shall be all said in the fore-mentioned Order neither shall they after the first two take the Lavatory but after having received the Blood shall go on with the Mass without taking the Lavatory that so they may be Fasting to celebrate the third and they shall be very careful to have the Cups well scoured and their Fingers washed clean with Water which shall be preserved in a particular Vessel in order to its being afterwards either thrown into a Pond or poured under the Altar or into the Baptismal Water that is in the Font and if any Priest through carelessness should in either of the two first Masses take the Lavatory after that it shall not be lawful for him to say any more because the Mass is not to be celebrated but Fasting which the taking of the Lavatory breaks Decree XXII THe Synod doth command That the Priests in the solemn administration of the Sacraments of Baptism Matrimony and Extream Vnction or when they administer the Holy Eucharist without the Mass for the greater decency and reverence for what they are about do wear a Surplice with a Stole about their Necks And whereas hitherto there has been no such thing as a Surplice in this Bishoprick the most Reverend Metropolitan having been pleased to provide such Vestments as are necessary in this Bishoprick no Vicar shall go from hence without taking a Surplice along with him which he is to wear in the administration of the Holy Sacraments wherein the Synod commands them likewise to use the Rites and Ceremonies prescribed in the Roman Ceremonial which the said Lord Metropolitan has commanded to be translated into Syrian and to be kept in all Churches which contains the Forms of Baptizing of Anointing the Sick of Marrying of Sacramental Absolution with the customary Prayers therein of administring the Holy Sacrament of the Altar of the Exorcisms of the Church for People possessed with the Devil the Blessings of Holy Water of Ashes of Chains and Branches as also the Form of Burying the Dead Old and Young and of reconciling Churches and
Church-Yards Which Books being bound shall be kept in all Churches neither shall any Priest presume to apply them to his own private use or to take them out of the Church And the Synod doth earnestly recommend it to the Rector of the College of the Jesuits of Vaipicotta to have always some of these Books Translated by some of the said College by him in order to the supplying of the Necessities of these Churches Decree XXIII THe Synod desiring that this Church may in all things be conformable to the Holy Roman and whole Italian Church doth command That on the second of February being the day of our Lady's Purification before Mass the Wax Candles which are in the Church be Blest as also all the Candles that shall be brought by the People out of Devotion according to the Roman Ceremonial translated into Syrian and after the publick and solemn Benediction is over there shall be a Procession in or round the Church in which all the Clergy shall carry Blessed Candles lighted in their hands as the People shall also do that have any in Memory of the Mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ the Divine Light and Splendor of the Father first entrance into the Temple there to offer himself to his Eternal Father cloathed with our Humanity So likewise upon the Monday Tuesday and Wednesday before the Feast of our Lord 's Holy Ascension in the Morning either before or after Mass there shall be a Procession in the Church or where the Vicar shall appoint in which the Litanies shall be said according to the customs of the Church which shall also be translated in the said Roman Ceremonial expunging the Names of all the Hereticks who according to the custom of the Nestorians were commemorated in this Church and it is the desire of the Synod that the use of the said Litanies be brought into this Church to be read in their Necessities or when they desire to implore the Divine Mercy Decree XXIV THe Synod being informed that in the remote parts of this Bishoprick as well towards the South as towards the North the Christians that dwell in the Heaths are guilty of Working and Merchandizing on Sundays and Holy-days especially in the Evenings doth command the Vicars to be very vigilant in this Matter and to admonish and reprehend all that they shall find so doing and if after three particular Admonitions they shall not reform they shall after that be thrown out of the Church and have the Casture denied them neither shall any Priest go into their Houses until they have yielded Obedience Decree XXV WHereas in this Diocess there are many Churches dedicated to Marxobro and Marphrod who are commonly stiled Saints of whom there is * Nothing known At Compostella the most famous place of Devotion in all Spain the People pray to some that they know as little of as the Malabars do of Marphrod For the famous Spanish Antiquary Ambrosius Morales in the 9th Book of his Chronicle gives us a particular Account of an Altar with some Names upon it that he met with there and that had great Devotion paid to it In the famous Monastery of the Benedictine Nuns that joins to the Holy Church of St. James saith Morales and is dedicated to the Glorious Martyr Pelayo whom in that Country they commonly call St. Payo there is an Ara on the Altar which they affirm to have been Consecrated by the Apostles and that they themselves said Mass on it and that it was brought thither with the blessed Body of St. James Now there is not saith Morales not only no foundation for the Truth of this Story but there is just cause to believe that that Stone which is at present in the same state it was in when it was first made could never be an Altar I observed it with great attention in the company of several great and learned Men who had all the same thoughts of it that I had the thing indeed being in clear and manifest for any such to doubt of for it is visible that the Stone is the Grave-Stone of some Heathens with this following Inscription D M S ATIAMO ET ATTE T LVMPS AO VIRIA EMO NEPTIS PIANO Xâ— ET S. E. C. The words are very plain and clear there not being a Letter wanting so that notwithstanding the Blunders committed by the Grace in Spelling it they may be with great ease Translated which I will 〈◊〉 as well as I can into Spanish This Stone is Consecrated to the Gods of the Dead and Dedicated to the Memories oâ— Atiamo and of Atte and oâ— Lumpsa as also to her Memorâ— who Erected it Viria Emâ—sâ— their pious Grand-child being 16 Years of Age. This is what the Stone contains therefore they that Consecrated it an Altar would have done well to have defaced the Letters by which means they would have removed the indignity that states all People in the face that consider what a thing it is to have the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ our Redeemer consecrated and placed upon the Tomb-Stone of Heathens whereon the Devils are invocated Thus far Morales But as this Stone has had a great deal of Honour done it in coming to be Consecrated an Altar in such a famous place of Devotion so the Persons whose Names are upon it have had no less done to them who are all great Saints in that Country and particularly Piano who in all probability is the St. Payo to whom the Church and Monastery is dedicated For first Salazar in his Spanish Martyrology upon the 30th day of December gives this following Account of the said Stone and Persons Don Didacus Sequinus Bishop of Auria who has Epitomized the Life of his Predecessor Serrandus gives therein the following Exposition of the Inscription that is upon this Altar Stone in the Galecian Language which History I have now by me in MSS. Consegrada a Deos Maximo Atiamo Erato Telumpsa Viriamo Nepotispiano Xuuito Teliforo Forem Martyres e padezeron em Galizia no Pago Sarense antes que ô Apostolo se fose a Jerusalem e por isto deyxon esta Ara a seus Discipolos paraque sobre de la dixiesem Missa en membraza destes Santos asi dexou escrito ô Bispo Don Serrando That is to say Consrecated to the greatest God Atiamo Erato Telumpsa Viriamo Nepotispiano Xuuito Teliforo Were all Martyrs and suffered in Galecia in the Village of Sarep before the Apostle went to Jerusalem who for that reason left this Altar to his Disciples to say Mass on in memory of those Saints as Bishop Don Serrando has left upon Record Lobarinus tells us that Don Serrandus after having given a description of the Altar subjoins the following Account of it Este he ò Retrayto de Ara que deyxo escripta o Apostol Santiago a seus discipolos e he un tanto da que trouxa con sigo nó mar sobre que pausaran o santo corpo e sobre de la deria missa