Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A63877
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A letter to the clergy of the diœcess of Ely from the Bishop of Ely ; before, and preparatory to his visitation.
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Church of England. Diocese of Ely. Bishop (1684-1690 : Turner); Turner, Francis, 1638?-1700.
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1686
(1686)
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Wing T3277; ESTC R38378
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10,246
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32
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A LETTER TO THE CLERGY OF THE Dioecess of Ely FROM THE BISHOP OF ELY Before and Preparatory TO HIS VISITATION CAMBRIDGE Printed by J. Hayes M. DC LXXXVI Salutem Officia in Christo Jesu Good Brother I. HAving last Year the first of My Translation Personally Visited your Church and every Parish-Church within My Jurisdiction to Administer Confirmation bringing it home even to your own doors and to know the present State of My whole Dioecess before I would Enter upon My Triennial Visitation I thank God I find no Cause to say upon the whole Account He that encreaseth Knowledge encreaseth Sorrow Since rather with a great deal of Joy I find my Lott is fallen among a Clergy for the generality of them as Devout and Diligent as Learned and Studious as Orthodox and Regular as Able and Willing to Rectify whatsoever is Amiss as any Clergy Our Holy Mother the Church of England can I verily believe show in any Dioecess And now I am very desirous to reap the Fruits of my last Year's Labours to see very good effects of that particular Inspection whereupon I suppose you Receiv'd a special Injunction to Regulate several things that were out of Order And I am so full of Concern that the General Review to be made ere long at the Visitation may be made effectual that I cannot forbear Addressing my self to you at this time Beseeching you now to lend me both your hands with all your most Active and vigorous Brotherly Assistance And if I may presume to use the Apostle's expression Though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoyn you That which is Convenient yet for Love's sake I rather beseech you II. I Choose this Way of Communicating my thoughts by Letter partly to supersede the Necessity of my making any long speeches when there will be so much other and better work at our Set-Meeting May it please God to bless it for the good of his Church But chiefly I consider that several Advertisements which may now be usefull Preparatives would come somewhat too late when Presentments were once Drawn and Brought and offer'd to us III. I do therefore in the first place entreat and expect it from you as you would not be a Partaker of other Mens Sins That you be exceeding Carefull at this time to shew your Church-Wardens their Duty and especially to make them sensible how great a Guilt they contract if they break the solemn Oath which they must all take upon this Occasion IV. But besides thus giving them warning of their Duty and Danger in General I am in hopes you will not grudge to give them your best Advise to compare my Articles with the present condition of your Parish and Direct them how to Discharge a good Conscience by making a particular sincere and sufficient Answer to each Article and joyn your selves with them in the Presentments as by consequence from the Canon you are Oblig'd to do if need be and Can. 113 sure there was never more need when you cannot otherwise Root out Sin and Impiety And your thus Joyning with the Church-Wardens in their Presentments and subscribing them with your own hands shall be Admitted and Accepted instead of the Ministers presenting separately and by themselves all those that do not Communicate at Easter whereas Orders shall Issue speedily to Require that special Presentment according to the Hundred and twelfth Canon to be made by those Ministers whom Reason and This Request will not prevail withall to joyn with their Church-Wardens in this General One. V. But further let Me prevail with you that publickly by your Preaching at this time and professedly with regard to the Approaching Visitation you would shew the people they are Obliged in Conscience now to make their just open Complaints instead of Odious Reflections behind our Backs and that you would make your Parish understand what our Blessed Saviour intended when He expressly commanded Tell it to the Church that none may be Deter'd by any unworthy Censures as if they were base Informers from doing that Christian Office VI. That as well in your Sermons as in your private Conferences with your Parishioners you labour to make them deeply apprehensive of the great and heavy load which the just Censures of the Church do lay upon grievous Offenders in any kind and particularly upon such Officers of her own as Deliberately Forswear themselves and that they may have no reason to bear any Malice to such as do but their Duties in making Presentments you are seriously and vehemently to Represent a well-deserv'd Excommunication's sad effects on their Souls and Consciences and besides those Spiritual to put them in mind of the Temporal ill effects that in case of extremity may follow on their Fortunes and Liberties at least on their Ease and Quiet and Good Name Besides what the Laws against Perjury may do if press'd against such men as make no Conscience of giving in a known notorious Lye with an Omnia Bene under their own hands just after having laid them on the Holy Bible VII But there is certainly another part of your Office which in Order of Nature and time should go before that of presenting Delinquents And the part which I mean is this you are personally and now most concernedly to Apply your selves in Order to the Convincing and Reclaiming such as stand liable to Ecclesiastical Censures so as if it be possible to prevent the Necessity of using Rigour with them you may Divide such Obnoxious Persons into three Generals those who are wholly out of the Churches Communion or those who pretending to be partly in it yet Omit their Christian Duties of frequenting the Divine Service and the Holy Sacrament from some Erroneous Principle they have taken up Or those who are forward as the foremost to come even to the Spiritual Feast it self But without the wedding Garment i. e. In their Ignorance or their Wickedness still leading their Lives in Scandalous and Notorious Sin such as Common Swearing habitual Drunkenness Fornication Adultery According to their special Exigences and several wretched Circumstances you are to treat with these If you cannot Obtain of them to come and discourse with you at your own Houses you must even go to Theirs remembring who it was that went about doing good and healing even at their Houses where He knew they Watcht him and laid Wait to entangle him in his Talk And considering His express and most wise Appointment First to tell the Offending Brother his fault between you and Him But if that do not gain your Brother then to take with you two or three Witnesses As you may do your Church-Wardens or some other steddy understanding Men in your Parish and Try again to Reduce and Perswade him to give satisfaction to the Church before you present him Nay in Extraordinary Cases you may call in the help of some Discreet and Worthy Neighbour-Minister And if neither of these Courses prevail then your Third step