the same time Offerings have bin anciently brought as before is mentioned this custome of Pentecostall Offerings may in some probability have its original derivation thence And in this guess Gulielmus Durandus runs along thus far in agreement with me Ritus igitur saith he Synagogae transivit in ReligioneÌ„ Ecclesiae sacrificia carnalis populi mutata sunt in observantiam populi spiritualis Durand Rationale divinorum Offic. l. 4. c. 30. Numb 34. Thus he writing about the offerings of the old Law And surely it is not vainly conceived the Jews might be the Authors of this Custome Nor needs any man to be ashamed to follow their steps in so good an example though the worst of men Gens sceleratissima Aug de Civit. Deiâ— 6. ca. 11. Synes in Epist Epist 4. as St. Augustine out of Seneca 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Synesius pleaseth to stile them But to come back to our business To the principall Mother-Churches then these Oblations were especially made and being thither brought the Bishops as before is set forth and declared had them solely to dispose of as whatsoever else were offered in or brought unto other Baptismal and Parochial Churches 16. q. 1. c. Statuimas yea and Chappels too for in such also Oblations were made consentiente Episcopo not otherwise came within the compass of his distribution So I find that Eugenius the Third did by his Diplâ—ma or Letters Patents grant the fourth part of the offerings made upon the greater Altar of the church of St. Peter in Rome Baron annal ad ann Chr. 1153. to the Archpriest and Canons of the same church This of the Bishop of Rome 12. q. 3. c. Episcopus And that the Bishops elsewhere did or might doe the same I see no cause to doubt though the Pope whose power and authority in this Kingdome and elsewhere was once so great as being forsooth Caput omnium Pontificum a quo illi tanquam à capite membra descendunt as Durandus overlasheth Durand Ratioonaâ— de minâ—str ordin Eccl. l. 1. fol. 31. and as having within the compass and limits of his jurisdiction above an hundred and twenty Archbishopricks and above a thousand Bishopricks as Stapleton vaunts Stapleton de Magnitud Rom. Eccl. l. 1. c. 3. did ex plenitudine potestatis sometimes interpose and order and dispose things in the Church according to his own will giving to this body or that member as he saw cause but ever to the Clergy to whom and to those uses before expressed by the Canon Law these Offerings were and are only due and otherwise interdicted to the Laity sub districtione Anathematis 10. q. 1. c. Quia Saâ—erdoâ—es e. Sanct. Patrumibi And hence it may be that in some places the Deans and Praebendaries of Cathedral Churches have them In other places Praebends are founded upon them to instance two if credible report deceive me not in the Cathedral Church of Salisbury a greater and a lesse distinguished and known by this difference of Major Minor pars Altaris And in some Dioeceses again they are settled upon the Bishop and Archdeacon and made part of their Revenue for which the King hath Tenths and Subsidies An instance hereof The Cathedrall or mothrr Church of Worcester was anciently before the dissolution a Priory and among other Revenues belonging to the same Church it had those Pentecostalia or Whitsun-farthings yearly brought unto it under the name of Oblations or spirituall profits tempore Pentecostes And after the Dissolution when King Henry the eighth about the 33 year of his reign did found anew and reendow the said Church he returned these Pentecostalia after he had kept them about a year in his own hands in express terms back again to the said Church which the Dean and Prebendaries there receive unto this day as I am informed and appeareth due by the * Henricus Octavus c. Sciatis quod nos de gratia nostra speciall ac ex certa scientia ac meâ—o motu nostris dedimus concessimus ac per praesentes damus concedimus Decano Capitulo Ecclesiae cathedralis Christi beatae Mariae Virginis Wigorn omnes illas Oblationes Obventiones sive spiritualia pâ—oficua vulgariter vocat Whitsun-farthings annuatim collect sive recepta de diversis villatis in Comitat nostris Wigorn. Warwic Heref. infra Archidiaconatum Wigorn. tempore Pentecost oblata dicto nuper Prioratui bâ—atae Mariae Wigorn. modò dissolut dudum spectan pertinen c. Ex Archâ—vâ—s Decani Capit. Wigorn. Letters Patents But in Gloucester it is otherwise for there the Bishop and Archdeacon only receive them neither can the Dean and Prebendaries that now are of the Cathedral nor could the Abbat Monks of that Church before them ever make just claim to them For before the suppression these Pentecostals inter alia were valued to the Archdeacon in the Kings books as part of the revenue of the Archdeaconry even when Procurations and Synodals were and for ought I know to the Bishop too but I leave that to the Record and would here end But as he that after a long night desires to behold the appearance of the morning Sun so my self not yet sufficiently satisfied with what hath been formerly produced in this obscure passage and desirous vel in minutioribus to behold the brightness of truth then which nothing can be more desireable Upon the apprehension of some conceived light beginning to discover it self in this particular 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euripid. in Phoeniss Hope to finde gives me encouragement and makes me yet eager to seek Fabianus a certain Bishop moves two questions to Pope Gelacius which as I conceive doe somewhat concern our present business The former of the two was 10. q. 3. c. Nec numerus Gloss 161. Whether a Bishop might require pro Cathedratico ultra antiquam consuetudinem To this the Pope answereth no he might not And the later was this What part of Oblations he ought to receive And the Pope refers him to the Custome observed in other Churches whether a moytie or third part Not the moity or third part generally of all the Oblations made that questionless is not the question in this place but only of such as were brought in Polydor. Virg. de Invent. â—erum l. 6. c. 8. 18 q. 2. c. Fleutherius â—e consecâ— Distinct 1. c. Slennit Dedicatâ—onum in die annâ—versariae dedicationis for this solemnity was annual and all upon that day vicatim made holy day as Polydor hath it vel alterius solennitatis as the Bishop and Founder or Priest did covenant and agree at the time of the Dedication of that Church so the Gloss explains the Case And surely this is it that Hostiensis specially aims at if I mistake not when writing of the time of the imposition of Church Censes he thus saith That their imposition was
which Councel I find doth only limit not constitute this payment and therefore it must be sought for a little higher wherein I crave the Readers patience for a further inquisition And so I pass away to the 4. Question namely When this Cense or Pension was usually paid And this I find to be as before is mentioned most usually in Synodo and that therefore it was called Synodaticum quia in Synodo frequentius dabatur saith Hostiensis Hostiens in sum de Censihus §. Ex quâ—bus I say it was usually but not alwayes so paid For in the Decretals there is somewhat that seems to oppose the limitation and restriction of this payment to Synodicall Meetings only Extra de Censibus c. Olim. The passage there is this There arose a question about the payment of this Synodaticum and afterwards a Suit between a Bishop of Spoleto in Italy and certain Clerks Plebis Rupinae within his Dioecess The Bishop required Tres denarios Papienses which according to an ancient Custome the Clergy were wont to pay at the Feasts of the Nativity and Easter to wit at each Feast so much pro Synodatico Now the said Clerks or Clergy having for thirty six years altered their payment and rendring to the Bishop and his Predecessors for so long time only Tres denarios Lucenses at each Feast being a kind of money of farre less value then the former endeavoured to prescribe against the Bishop who thought himself safe enough to avoid the danger of their Prescription by receiving of it sub protestatione and that in so doing his right could not be impeached wherein he had like to have been deceived A great deal of adoe there was and much bickering between the Bishop and his Clergy and at length the matter was brought to Pope Innocent the Third to be decided who examining the cause and finding the prescription of the defendant parties to be only four years short of a full prescription Quadragenalis praesiriptio tollit omnem actionem Ext. de verb. signisicat c. Cum inter ver per 40 annos namely of forty years to which time if the Defendants could have brought their prescription the Bishop had been gone notwithstanding his protestation and having also the Defendants and their Advocates answer non revocatum that Papiensis moneta was formerpaid The Pope thereupon passeth a definitive sentence for the Plaintiffe Bishop against the Defendant Clergy and condemns them ad solutionem Denaâ—iorum Baptensium thus there So that hence it is apparently evident that albeit the Synodatick payment receive its denomination à Synodo as being the usual time of â—ts payment yet under the same name it was also payd extra Synodum namely at the Feasts of the Nativity and Easter I will not affirm absque ratione Synodi for that before this time Synods I mean Provincial and Dioecesan afterwards I doubt not were held occasion requiring twice a year correspondent whereunto by prevalency of custome the Synodatick payment might either be doubled which is less probable or divided which I rather incline to think for so I find the ancient course to be in the Dioecess of Gloucester namely the payment to be divided into Synodalia Aestivalia Hiemalia Extat in quâdam vetustissima membranulâ quam penes me habeo Nor do I think that this Synodatick payment taken to be the same with the Cathedratick as I doe here and elsewhere was constantly at all times paid either in Synodo or at the two Feasts above-named For it was sometimes and very anciently paid also at Visitations I referre the Reader to the seventh Councel at Toledo mentioned in the Decree 10. q. 3. c. Inter caetera Casus ibi where he shall find a Canon against the exacting of more money then Two shillings only pro Cathedraticò in Episcopall visitations And so have I done with this Question and pass to the fifth and that is How and by what Law this Cathedraticum came at the first to be imposed upon the Church and path by the Clergie To this Question Hostiensis makes reply and saith that it was imposed Authoritate Episcopi by the authority of the Bishop within the sphere of whose Quondam activity the Lawyers have found a power to move Gloss per Lancelot super Instit juris Canon De immunitate Eccles which they call Lex Dioecesana a term by them invented because not explicitely found in any Text in Law for the clear and distinctive expression of Episcopall power in that particular as the same relates to other Lawes and Priviledges annexed to and inherent in the Office of the Bishop to wit Lex jurisdictionis Jus ordinis And therfore it is that Panormitan saith Abb. in ca. Dilect de Offic. Jud. Ordinar ubi plura de lelege Dioeces that they are vocabula Magistralia magis quà m juris But to stand no longer upon the term Thus much I find that this part of Episcopall power thus distinguished and actuated by this Law did formerly yield the Bishop a large extent of command over all the Churches and Clergy within his Dioecess all I say none * Gloss in ver Episcopus c. Episcopus non delet Dist. 18. Ext. de Majorit obed c. 9. Quod super gloss ibi in ver Dioecesana excepted but the Cistertians who by virtue of their order had some Priviledges of immunity more then ordinary as namely to be absent from Synodicall Meetings assembled by the Bishop within his Dioecess and from payments then made to him by the other Clergy with such like This then was the Law and by virtue of this Law founded in the Bishop or power settled upon him by special donation or dispensation this Cense was by him * 10 qu. 1. in Casu received and the payment thereof fixed and imposed upon the inferiour Clergy which now is become a charge perpetuall annexed to their Benefices and thence annually to be payd if greater authority interrupt not the ancient course as an Onus Ecclesiasticum a Church burden or charge yea and to shew that it is no strange and unheard of burden no innovated payment It is said to be besides its imposition by Law Onus Ordinarium The Gloss upon the Provincial Constitutions de officio Vicarii makes it good C. Quoniam in ver Onera Ecclesiastica where the Reader may find those words Solutio Cathedratici Synodatici Procurationum ratione visitationis alia hujusmodi de quibus non dubitatur quin sunt onera ordinaria suum capiunt effectum ab impositione legis But this place of Lyndewoods Glosse gives occasion to a question namely Whether Procurations be imposed and due by the same Law that Cathedratica are To which I answer that questionlesse they are not For Cathedraticum 10. q. 1. in casu Synodaticum tertia vel quarta pars Decimationum Oblationum c. are Census and exacted or imposed as I conceive Lege
had not their originall in the primitive Church for St. Paul visiting all the Churches which he had planted in Asia and Europe demanded not any Proxies but laboured with his own hands for his maintenance that he might not be burdensome to the Churches Yet long after the Canon Law which declares that Proxies are due to the Bishops in their Visitations saith Inslit Juris Canon l. 2. ca. de Cens that it is agreeable to the doctrine of St. Paul Vt a quibus spiritâ—alia recipimus eisdem temporalia communicemus Secondly 't was noted that the same which we call Proxie or Procuracy is termed by the Canonists Procuratio because that in overy Visitation the persons visited procured necessary provision for the Visitors which provision at the first was in victuals viz. in Esculentis â—oâ—ulentis and that was do be received with moderation and temperance Distinct 35. c. Eccles Ne jejuniorum doctrinam rubentibus buccis praedicent as it is said in one of the Canons But afterwards when the pomp and excesse of the Visitors required so great Provisions as were grievous and intolerable to Churches and Religious Houses then every Church and Religious House was reasonably taxed and thereby Proxies reduced to a certain sum of money payable yearly in the nature of a Pension to the Ordinary who had power of visitation merojure as 't is said 10 Eliz. Dier 273. b. And this was aptly resemble to Socage in our Law of which littleton saith That in ancient time a great part of those Tenants which held of their Lords by Socage did come with their Sokes their Ploughs certain dayes in the year to plough and sow the Demesnes of the Lord and because that such workes were done for the livelyhood and sustenance of their Lords they were acquitted against their Lords of all other services Afterwards these services were changed into money by consent of the Lords desire of the Tenants that is into an annual rent And as the Tenants in Socage after the said change paid their rents yearly to the Lord although he had aliened his demesnes and had no land to be ploughed or sowed so the Churches Religious Houses after the Procurations of victuals were reduced to a certain sum paid them yearly to their Ordinary though he made no Visitation and so the Rule of Cessante causââ—cessnt effectus holds not in these Cases And to this purpose directly is Sir William Capels Case put in Luttrels Case in my Lord Coke his fourth Report where it was resolved That Land being holden by a Rent payable for the keeping of a Castle that though the Castle be demolished or decayed yet the rent must be paid For 't is there said That where the Tenant holdeth of the Lord to keep or repair the Castle of the Lord and afterward such service as Littleton saith in the Case of Socage was anciently by mutuall consent of Lord and Tenant changed into an annual rent although the said rent be pro warda Castri yet the Lord cannot have the keeping of the Castle back again when he will for after the composition and change made the keeping of the Castle is utterly gone And Pro imports no condition as in the Case of an Annuity granted pro consilio impendendo but a plain and perpetuall recompence and satisfaction By the self-same reason in our Case albeit that the Parsonages impropriate are now made layfee ad are come into the hands of lay Gentlemen which are not visitable and though that the Religious Houses are suppressed dissolved and overthrown as the Castle in Sir William Capels Case yet the said certain summes of money which came in lieu of Proxies and retain the name of Proxies and by ancient composition are become parcel of the certain and settled Revenues of the Bishop shall remain for ever and shall not be subject to exinguishment no more then Annuities Pensions or Portions of Tythes which are paid to this day out of many Abbies impropriate Rectories and the originall causes for which they were first granted or paid shall not be now examined or brought into question And at this day the King himself doth pay and allow Proxies out of all Impropriations which he hath in his possession and therefore in every Lease made by the King of an impropriate Rectory the Lessee doth covenant to discharge all Proxies Synodals Pensions c. And Sir Humphry Winch then chief Baron at the hearing of the said Cause said That before the dissolution of Monasteries where a Rectory was Appropriate to an Abbey immediately the Visitation ceased as to the Rectory for the Abbat was not visitable as Rector for his doctrine but as Abbat for his rule and order And yet without question the Ordinary had his Proxies out of all Parsonages appropriate to Abbies as well before the dissolution as after And for the Saving in the Act de 3â— Hen. 8. ca. 5. the same is no idle or Flattering Saving but reall and effectuall for it is agreed before that those Proxies were in being at the time of the making of the Act and not extinguished by the surrender of the Religious Houses for their Corporations were not dissolved untill the Religious persons had relinquished their houses and were dispersed And then such things as were in Esse at the time of the making of that Act might well be preserved saved by the Act though the things extinct before could not be revived by a Saving without express words of Grant and Restitution And this difference appeareth plainly in the Case of Kekewich 27 Hen. 8. Brook Parliaments 77. And in Sir John Molins Case in the sixth part of my Lord Cokes Reports 2. As to the second point it was resolved That Proxies in their originall nature being duties payable for visitation were grantable to the King and the King was capable of such grant especially when the said duties were converted to a summe of money certain in the nature of a Pension or Annuity for by the ancient Law of the Realm the King hath power to visit reform and correct all abuses and enormities in the Church and by the Statutes made in the time of Hen. 8. the Crown was only remitted and restored to its ancient jurisdiction which was usurped by the Bishop of Rome 33 Ed. 3. Fitz. Aid del Roy. 103. Reges sacro oleo uncti spiritualis jurisdictionis sunt capaces And Proxie is a profit of Jurisdiction 10 Hen. 7.18 Rex est mixta persona cum Sacerdote Also by the Common Law the King might have Tithes of which no meer lay person is capable 22. Ass p. 75. 21 H. 7.1 The King himself shall visit his Free Chappels and Hospitals 8. Ass p. 29. N. Br. 42. a. And Cassaneus in Catalogo Gloriae mundi part 5. consider 24. cites a text of the Canon Law viz. Quòd omnes Reges dicuntur Clerieâ— and another text that saith Quòd causa spiritualis committâ— potest Principt
is a Synod out of divers Nations National out of divers Provinces Provincial out of divers Diocess Diocesan out of one Diocess only The Oecumenical and National Synods were ever assembled by authority Imperial Regal or Papal The Provincial by Metropolitans or Patriarchs The Diocesan by the Bishop of the Dioces I recite them briefly for to make a long Narration or Story of the manner of assembling order of session and form of proceeding observed in each particular Synod were to trifle out the time and to waste Paper yea overmuch to trespass upon the patience as I fear I have already done of the judioious reader especially in this place where the discourse upon that subject can be little else then a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a work by the by as we vulgarly say Duarenus will briefly satisfie such as desire information in the point of Synods Duarenus unto whom l. 1. c. 11. of his book de sacris Ecclesiae ministeriis beneficiis I referre them This only I would intimate and I will doe but little more then so reserving a few words for Diocesan Synods only how carefull and how circumspect religious Emperors and godly Bishops in former times have been by the often assembling of Synods and calling of Councels the frequent celebration whereof as it was praecipua agri dominici cultura as the Councel of Basil expresseth it Consil Basil Bin. to 4. sess 15. So the neglect thereof was found to be very much disadvantageous to it Novel Const 123. ca. 10. as the Emperor long before that Councell in his Novel-Constitutions seems to complain to prevent as well the overspreading poyson of Heresy wherewith the field of the Church was in those times much infested as also to allay as much as in them lay such tempests of contention as were oftimes stirred up by seditious and factious spirits to disturb the Common peace The famous Oecumenical Councel of Chalcedon Concil Chalced. can 18. in the time of Martian and Valentinian Emperors graced with an Assembly of 630 Bishops and before that a Councel at Antioch Concil Antioch c. 20. Cmcil Nicen. c. 5. and before them both the Councel of Nice all cited in the volume of the Decrees made severall Acts That a Synod of Comprovincial Bishops should be celebrated in every Province twice a year 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say the Apostles Canons too and once of that twice as the Nicene Councel hath it Canon Apostolo rum ca. 38. differing in point of time from that of Antioch ante dies quadragesimae C. de Concil 18. Distinct c. propter ibi c. habeatur eod yielding this for the reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that all grudge and malice taken away both Priest and People might offer an holy gift and perform a pure Fast to God But this being found in progress of time a task and travell too hard for Bishops being for the most part old men to continue especially where their Provinces were of large extent to instance Germany amongst the rest the cause also of such frequent meetings being lessened time saw an end of that custome for neer about the middle of the 5. Century at what time Justinian's Novel Constitutions were first published sent abroad The Emperor finding a neglect of the observation of the double yearly Synod commands thus which the rather I set down in the very words of the Constitution out of the Greek originall for that I cannot find it in any Latin copy Novel Justin Constitut 123. c 10. impress Parisiis 1542. Gothofred or else 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sortasse which constitution of the Emperor receiving further strength by the sixth General Synod Concil constantinop ca. 8. Concil Nicenum ca. 6 Concil Lateran ca. 6. held at Constantinople about the latter end of the sixth Century as also by the seventh General Synod celebrated at Nice about the latter end of the seventh Century and long after by the Councell of Lateran under Innocent the third Anno 1215. continued the course of a single not interdicting or interrupting in places where it was used the custome of a double annual Provinciall Synod for divers hundreds of years within the Empire August de Civit Dei l. 2. c. 21. But. Quid manet ex antiquis morthus St. Austin thus breaks forth quibus Ennius dixit rem stare Romanam quos ita oblivione obsoletos videmus ut non modò non colantur sed etiam ignorentur So here this Custom though never so good and so long continued hath long since been buried as it were in oblivion and so worn out of common use as that it is now as a thing unknown quaereliquiae quodve vestigium Flor. l. 1. c. 11. as the Historian of the Veientes and as if it had never been And yet not so as that it suffered utter abolishment No 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sueton. in Domitiano a shoot from the same root sprung forth and up it came againe but somewhat altered from what it was before For in the Councell of Basil that troublesome * Grantz Saxon l. 11. ca. 20. Consil Basil Sess 15. Councell in the time of Eugenius the fourth about the year 1433. it was there decreed upon neglect I doubt not of the annual Provincial Synod and an Act passed that a triennial Provincal Synod should thenceforth be observed which if the wisdome of those times and thence downward had thought meet to have continned and transmitted to posterity it might have been a means of producing many profitable Constitutions that the modern and after ages must be content to want and wish for But blessed be God for those we have The present times doe and must thankfully acknowledge the singular benefit they receive from them which without question would have been enlarged and augmented had there not been found cause sufficient of a cessation at least of a longer intermittency of time for their Synods then is limited in or warranted by the Councel Act. For as when the prey is taken the Huntsman ceaseth to pursue and hoste debellato the Trumpet soundeth a retreat and the Souldier returns triumphantly home So here the stormes of Hereticall fury which for a long time disquieted the peaceable state of the Church being at the length well aswaged differences and distractions about Ecclesiastical affairs composed and all things in some good sort setled abroad The Bishops not called upon by their Metropolitans repose themselves within the limits of their own Dioceses where according to an Act made in the said Councell of Basil each Bishop was to convocate his Clergie and celebrate also a Synod in the same his Diocess at least * C. annis singulis 18. Distinct Abb. in c. Conquerent de officio Ordinarii C. Episcopus 18. Dictinct Concil Basil Sess 15. once a year In this Synod being most usually held in the Cathedrall of every Diocess the
Bishop himself nisi gravi necessitate vel canonico impedimento detentus in which case some other by delegation from him sate President who being there sate and having his assembled Clergie about him with such other of the Laity whom necessary cause called thither after earnest invocation for the assistance and direction of Gods Spirit and the further accomplishment of such accustomed rites as were necessarily requisite and preparative to the business The Bishop or his Substitute selected or called forth septem è plebe C. Episcopus in Synodo 35. q. 6. saith the Decree de qualibet parochia adds the Glosse Men grave and of ripe years fearing God and for honesty such as were of best repute amongst the people To each of these men the Praesident of the Synod delivered an Oath the form whereof was as followeth viz. Amodò in antea quicquid nosti aut audisti aut postmodùm inquisiturus es quod contra Dei voluntatem rectam Christianitatem in Parochia factum sit aut futurum erit si in diebus tuis evenerit tantùm ut ad tuam cognitionem quocunque modo perveniat Si scis aut tibi fueâ—it indicatum Synodalem causam esse ad ministerium Episcopi pertinere quòd tu nec propter amorem nec propter timorem nec propter pretium nec propter parentelam ullatenus celes Episcopum aut ejus missum cui hoc inquirere jusse it quandocunque te ex hoc interrogaverit Sic te Deus adjuvet istae Sanctorum reliquiae By virtue of which oath and office thereupon depending the extent of their authority and enquiry stretcht very far namely into all businesses cognizable punishable by jurisdiction Ecclesiastical Consil Basiliens Sâ—ssio 15. viz. Simony Heresie Usury Sacriledg Sorcery Divination Enchantments Superstition Alienation of Church Livings Fornication and many other things besides All which and whatsoever else they found to fall within the compass of their inquisition as cause required those seven men called in the Law Testes Synodales presented either in writing or otherwise interrogated in the open Synod delivered by way of information vivâ voce to the Bishop or his Substitute which was received by Notaries then present appointed for that purpose that accordingly things amiss might be reduced to reformation and amended the parties found remiss might be stirred up to better performances and the persons peccant in any sort condignly punished And so surely they were For albeit on the one hand there was tenderness used towards sinne secretly acted especially where scandall might probably fasten it self upon some eminent calling and so a secret gentle animadversion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isocrat Orat. 2. ad Nicoc. p. 28. as the Orator expresseth it out of the wisdome of the Synodicall Magistrate was answerably inflicted upon the offending party yea for smaller misdemeanors Spelman Concil 3. p. 362. and the first a pecuniary punishment was in favour imposed yet on the other hand when a fault committed became so manifest that a connivance or private satisfaction might cause a publick offence then no intercession Tacit. annal l. 14. p 314. no pecunia ob delicta as Tacitus in another case could exempt from censure and shame but as the offence was manifest Antiquit. Britan p. 197. Extr. de Officio Jud. Ordinarii c. l. resragab § finali so should the punishment be as notorious be the person high or low his calling could not quit him free which if he refused to undergo being a Clerk he was turned out of his Ministry and deprived of his Benefice If a Laick he was thrust out of the Church by Excommunication and debarred of Christian society no man suffered to keep him company This was in effect so I take it the manner of holding of Synods in particular Dioceses at least a representation of some part of the form of proceedings and censures therein At which meeting I doubt not to say there was a Synodale a Cense or Tribute in money payd to the Bishop or to some other to his use from the inferiour Clergie Now Synodale among writers is found if I mistake not to yield more especially a two fold signification For it signifieth not only Conventus a meeting as Synodus doth but likewife the Acts of that meeting Concerning the former signification we have an instance out of an Epistle of Gregory the Third cited by Cardinal Baronius in the 8. Tome of his Annals about the year 738. Catholica saith he Baronius writng to the Bishops of the Provinces of Bajory and Almany Sanctorum Patrum authoritas jubet ut his in anno pro salute populi Christiani seu exhortatione adoptionis filiorum Synodalia debent celebrari c. Here Synodale is taken for the Meeting or Synod it self Touching the latter acceptation Histor. Tripartit l. 7. sol 452. I find it in the Tripartite History where mention is made of a Synod of Bishops assembled at Antioch out of divers Provinces concerning the Heresie broached by Acasius and upheld by his and his adherents against the consubstantiality of the Sonne of God Which point being there disputed by the Bishops Orthodox Hereticall it was at length discussed and this Acasius with his Associates being throughly convinced with the evidenceof truth consubstantialitatem professi sunt saith the Story they were constrained to give glory to God by the acknowledgement of their errors and in subscribing to the Orthodox Tenets and Creed of the Church which done the Bishops of that Synod sent the same Profession together with a copy of the Nccene Creed to Jovinian the Emperor to the end the said Emperor might have knowledge of their proceeding with this Acasius and be made acquainted with the uniformity of his and his adherents belief touching that Creed Hunc libellum saith that Synod meaning the Nicene Creed in collectione Synodalium Sabini conscriptum invenimus In this place I take Synodalia to mean the Acts of that Synod which were collected and digested by this Sabinus Histor Tripartit l. 5. p. 392. as a little before in that Story the Reader may find written So now here is Synodale the Meeting and Synodalia too the Acts of the Meeting But what 's all this will some say to Synodale the payment being the very thing principally in pursuit of inquisition in this place To which I answer that I have found yet another Synodale which as I conceive will come neer to our purpose yea and must necessarily be taken for this very payment that now we are upon In the Appendix to the 3. General Lateran Councel and in the second part of that Appendix there is an Epistle of Pope Alexander the 3. to certain Archdeacons and Deans reproving them for extorting of moneys from the Clergy sub diversis nominibus in a fraudulent kind of way Et hujusmodi exactionem saith the Pope in that Epistle ut eam liberiùs videamint exigere quandoque
consuetudinem Episcopalem quandoque Synodalia quandoque Denarios Paschales appellantes The Archdeacons and Deans the rather as it should seem to obtain their unjust demands shrowded them under such specious Titles of dues as they knew were currantly warrantable and would not be denyed This I take the sense to be And admit it comes not off so clear but that some dregs of prejudice in respect of the Exactors might in some sort obscure the equity of this Synodal demand yet this I hold to be a clear truth that as the abuse of a thing ought not to take away or abolish a necessary or convenient use so neither can or ought any unjust receipt impeach or make void a just demand For it will be granted I suppose that no Archdeacon or Dean hath right of claim Jure communi Ecclesiastico to the Synodal payment but only by composition with or prescription from the Bishop so that if under colour and pretence of such right the Archdeacon or Dean shall require Synodalia as a due by Law peculiar appropriate to themselves it may wel be accounted extortion in them which bonâ fide by them demanded in the right of the Bishop or in their own names and right by lawfull prescribed custome from the Bishop would be a just demand so that hence I conclude there is Synodale a payment and that Pope Alexanders reprehensive Epistle as to the equity of that due to be in no particular repugnant or contradictory But I will stay no longer upon this point let the judicious Reader examine the place and satisfie himself I proceed This Synodal and Synodical due had antiently two other names whereby it was known and distinguished which time hath now worn out from common use The one imposed from the original cause and reason of the pay being ob honorem Cathedrae Episcopalis and so termed CATHEDRATICUM The other assuming a name from its time of payment and is called Synodaticum both one and the same thing excepting the nominal difference and so are they taken in the Law being found ofttimes to go together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the one expounding the meaning of the other Instance hereof I shall not need to insist upon in this place as a matter of principall proof but pass it over intending in the solution and answers to certain questions following ex incidenti to speak something of it The questions are I. What this payment couched under the terms of Cathedraticum and Synodaticum anciently was II. The reason why payd III. The time when it was first imposed IV. The time when it was usually paid V. How and by what Law it came to be imposed upon the Church and paid by the Clergie VI. and lastly What relative neerness our Synodale now hath unto this antient Cathedraticum To each of these questions a brief solution I begin with the first namely What this Cathedratick payment was and to this I answer That as well by the Acts of certain Councels before mentioned to wit Bracar and Toledo as by the Constitutions and Rescripts of Popes Cathedraticum appears to be a cense or summe of money of two shillings payd to the Bishop by the inferiour Clergy Illud te volumus modis omnibus custodire ne qui Episcoporum Siciliae de Parochiis ad se pertinentibus nomine Cathedratici amplius quà m duos solidos praesumant accipere 10. q. 3. c. Illud c. placuit ibi c. inter caetera eod 1. Thus Pope Pelagius to Cresconius the Illustrious So in a difference that fell out bewteen the Bishop of Ascisi Assisinatin the Decreatals read which Ortelius from Leander gathers to be Assisi a Town within the confines of Vmbria in Italy and the Governour of St. Benet not farre from thence about Episcopal rights Honorius the third Ext. de officico Judicis Ordinarii c. conquerent Gloss ibid. in v. Duos selidos upon complaint made unto him against the Bishop sets down what dues and duties did of right appertain unto the Bishop from the Churches and Chappels belonging unto the said Monastery and amongst the rest expresseth seth Two shillings nomine Cathedratici which is a Pension payd to the Bishop à qualibet Ecclesiâ socundum loci consuetudinem Abb. c. conquerent de officio Judicis Ordinarii as Panormitan upon the Text there Two shilings then was the usuall summe payd but why payd the reason is yet to render Hostiensis answers to it and saith II. Hostiens insum de Censibus §. Ex quibus ver Cathedraticum autem that it was payd in argumentum subjectionis ob honorem Cathedrae so he And the Councel of Bracar cited in the Decree Placuit ut nullus Episcoporum per suas Dioeceses ambulans praeter honorem Cathedrae suae id est 10. q. 3. c. Placuit Duos solidos aliud aliquid per Ecclesias tollat Thus there for honour then of the Episcopall Chair and in token and argument of subjection to the Bishop was this sum anciently payd And no marvel if we rightly weigh the dignity of his person the amplitude of his power and the great authority that he had in former dayes For considered first jure ordinis Ext. de Religiosiâ— Domibus c. Constitutos he had the Ordination of Clerks Consecration of Altars and Churches with such like Prerogatives Secondly considered respectu * 10. q. 1. in casu jurisdictionis and so he had the power of correcting and excommunicating yea unto him belonged Institution and Destitution of Clerks in a word the jurisdiction of all causes by Law appertaining ad forum Ecclesiasticum Ext. de Officio Judicis Oâ—dmarii c. Conquâ—rent Lastly considered with respect to the power that he had Lege Dioecesana as he was the a 10. q. 1. in casa Dioecesan and so he had Jus Census Cathedraticum exigendi to leave other Priviledges unnamed and Jus imponendi too as b Hostiens de censibus §. Quis imponere potest Duaren de sacris Eccl. ministeriis b neficiis l. 7. c. 5. Hostiensis adds which shews that the Bishop in time past was to say no more 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But Duarenus explains the reason of this payment a little further for thus he writes Dicitur hoc jus vulgo Cathedraticum quod Cathedrae id est honori Episcopali debeatur Cathedra enim in jure Pontificio pro honore ac munere Episcopali saepe accipitur propterea quòd olim Episcopi quorum munus propâ—ium ac praecipium est docere sedentâ—s in solio Cathedra docebant Thus he which shall be the close of my answer to the second question The third follows to wit The time when is was first imposed To this question I bring Duarenus again whose words I will here set down Postquam saith he reditus Ecclesiae qui antiquitùs erant communes Duaren ut supra l. 2. c. 1. fol. 53. ab