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A61555 Ecclesiastical cases relating to the duties and rights of the parochial clergy stated and resolved according to the principles of conscience and law / by the Right Reverend Father in God, Edward, Lord Bishop of Worcester. Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699. 1698 (1698) Wing S5593; ESTC R33861 132,761 428

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their Consciences fly in their Faces and they condemn themselves for their evil Actions And then these very Instances are an Argument against Infidelity for we may justly presume that they would shake off their Fears of another World if they could But why should some Instances of this Nature signifie more against Religion than the many Remarkable Examples of a Godly Righteous and Sober Life among the Clergy to a stronger Confirmation of it For they have had greater Occasion of searching into all the Considerable Difficulties about Religion than others can pretend to and I do not know any that have imployed most Time and Pains about it but have had greater Satisfaction as to the Truth and Excellency of it Thus I have endeavoured to remove the most common Prejudices of our Times against our Profession It would now be proper for me to give some particular Directions to you but that is so much the business of the following Discourses that I shall refer you to them and commend you to the Grace and Blessing of Almighty God that you may so carefully discharge your Duties in this World that it may advance your Happiness in another I am Your Affectionate Friend and Brother EDW. WIGORN Hartlebury C. Apr. 23. 1698. ERRATA PReface pag. viii lin 7. read Birinus p. xii l. 7. r. Kington P. 26. l. 21. after fraudes add p. 126. l. 11. r. Birinus p. 129. l. 9. r. Wulstan p. 142. l. 7. r. Flocks they go to p. 157. l. 17. after but insert to perswade you p. 226. l. 5. for more r. meer p. 236. l. 9. for Titles r. Tithes p. 241. l. 9. r. A●b●rdus p. 254. l. 17. r. Guthrun p. 256. l. 17. for than r. as THE CONTENTS CASE I. THE Bishop of Worcester's Charge to the Clergy of his Diocess in his Primary Visitation c. p. 1. II. Of the Nature of the Trust committed to the Parochial Clergy c. p. 103. III. Of the particular Duties of the Parochial Clergy c. p. 175. IV. Of the Maintenance of the Parochial Clergy by Law p. 229. V. Of the Obligation to observe the Ecclesiastical Canons and Constitutions c. p. 325. To which is annexed a Discourse concerning Bonds of Resignation c. A Catalogue of Books published by the Right Reverend Father in God Edward Lord Bishop of Worcester and sold by Henry Mortlock at the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-Yard A Rational Account of the Grounds of the Protestant Religion being a Vindication of the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury's Relation of a Conference c. from the pretended Answer of T. C. The second Edition Folio Origines Britannicae or the Antiquities of the British Churches with a Preface concerning some pretended Antiquities relating to Britain in Vindication of the Bishop of St. Asaph Folio Irenicum A Weapon-Salve for the Churches Wounds Quarto Origines Sacrae or a Rational Account of the Grounds of Christian Faith as to the Truth and Divine Authority of the Scriptures and the Matters therein contained The Fifth Edition corrected and amended Quarto The Unreasonableness of Separation or an impartial Account of the History Nature and Pleas of the present Separation from the Communion of the Church of England Quarto A Discourse concerning the Idolatry practised in the Church of Rome and the hazard of Salvation in the Communion of it in Answer to some Papers of a revolted Protestant wherein a particular Account is given of the Fanaticism and Divisions of that Church Octavo An Answer to several late Treatises occasioned by a Book entitled A Discourse concerning the Idolatry practised of the Church of Rome and the hazard of Salvation in the Communion of it Part I. Octavo A Second Discourse in Vindication of the Protestant Grounds of Faith against the Pretence of Infallibility in the Church of Rome in answer to the Guide in Controversie by R. H. Protestancy without Principles and Reason and Religion or the certain Rule of Faith by E. W. With a particular Enquiry into the Miracles of the Roman Church Octavo An Answer to Mr. Cressy's Epistle Apologetical to a Person of Honour touching his Vindication of Dr. Stillingfleet Octavo A Defence of the Discourse concerning the Idolatry practised in the Church of Rome in Answer to a Book entitled Catholicks no Idolaters Octavo Several Conferences between a Romish Priest a Fanatick Chaplain and a Divine of the Church of England being a full Answer to the late Dialogues of T. G. Octavo The Council of Trent Examin'd and Disprov'd by Catholick Tradition in the main Points in Controversie between Us and the Church of Rome with a particular Account of the Times and Occasions of Introducing them A Discourse concerning the Doctrine of Christ's Satisfaction or the true Reasons of his Sufferings with an Answer to the Socinian Objections and a Preface concerning the true State of the Controversie about Christ's Satisfaction Octavo Second Edition A Discourse in Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity with an Answer to the late Socinian Objections against it from Scripture Antiquity and Reason And a Preface concerning the different Explication of the Trinity and the Tendency of the present Socinian Controversie Octavo Second Edition The Bishop of Worcester's Answer to Mr. Locke's Letter concerning some Passages relating to his Essay of Humane Understanding mention'd in the late Discourse in Vindication of the Trinity Octavo The Bishop of Worcester's Answer to Mr. Locke's Second Letter wherein his Notion of Idea's is proved to be inconsistent with it self and with the Articles of the Christian Faith Octavo Sermons preached upon several Occasions in three Volumes in Octavo The Effigies of the Right Reverend Father in God Edward Lord Bishop of Worcester Engraven on a Copper-Plate Price 6 d. THE BISHOP OF WORCESTER'S CHARGE TO THE CLERGY of his DIOCESE In his Primary Visitation begun at Worcester September 11 th 1690. My Brethren THIS being my Primary Visitation I thought it fitting to acquaint my self with the Ancient as well as Modern Practice of Episcopal Visitations and as near as I could to observe the Rules prescribed therein with respect to the Clergy who are now summoned to appear And I find there were two principal Parts in them a Charge and an Enquiry The Charge was given by the Bishop himself and was called Admonitio Episcopi or Allocutio wherein he informed them of their Duty and exhorted them to perform it The Enquiry was made according to certain Articles drawn out of the Canons which were generally the same according to which the Iuratores Synodi as the ancient Canonists call them or Testes Synodales were to give in their Answers upon Oath which was therefore called Iuramentum Synodale for the Bishop's Visitation was accounted an Episcopal Synod The former of these is my present business and I shall take leave to speak my Mind freely to you this first time concerning several things which I think most useful and fit to be
own and were hardly brought to any reasonable Allowance for the Clergy which supplied them These were called Beneficia in the Capitulars and they were to pay Nonae Decimae i.e. a Fifth Part out of them which was obtained with much Difficulty as appears by the many Laws made about them In the Council at Leptins A.D. 743. Carolomannus son to Charles Martel owns the letting out some of the Church Lands sub Precario Censu upon a reserved Rent Can. 2. Capit. l. 5. c. 3. but then it was barely for Life But the consequence was That it was very hard to recover either the Lands or the reserved Rents and they put in Clergy-men and put them out as they pleased because they held these Lands as Beneficiary Tenures from the Crown So that it was the Work of more than an Age to put the Church there in any tolerable Condition But this seems to be very much mistaken when it is brought to prove the Right of Patronage from the Endowment as to the Disposal of Benefices But the Right of Patronage by the first building and endowing the Church is owned by the Civil Law in Iustinian's Novels 123. c. 18. and Two Things were there required 1. A sufficient Maintenance for the Clergy who were nominated 2. The Bishop's Satisfaction as to their Fitness about which he speaks in another Novel 56. Tit. 12. c. 2. And he elsewhere requires that before any Churches were built the Bishop should see that there were sufficient Maintenance for those who were to officiate Novel 66. Tit. 22. The same Right obtained here upon the same Grounds as appears by the Barons Answer to Gregory IX who affirm That they had it ever since Christianity was founded here They mean ever since parochial Churches were endowed by their Ancestors for there could be no such Right of Patronage before And such Patrons were here called Advocati Ecclesiae as appears by Ioh. Sarisbur Ep. 6. 119. and the Ius Advocationis as our Lawyers tell us is a Right which a Person hath to present to a vacant Benefice in his own Name which is agreeable to what Bracton and Fleta had said long before But it doth not appear by them how the Names of Patron and Advocate came to be so applied Among the Romans saith Asconius Pedianus the Patron was he that pleaded the cause of another the Advocate he that appeared in Court on his behalf But this doth not reach to the Ius Advocationis which we are now about In the Ninety seventh Canon of the African Code an Allowance is made for the Churches to have Advocates to solicite their Causes at Court. From hence the greater Churches and Monasteries had their proper Advocates appointed them by the King as Bignonius observes and in the old Charters of Aub. Miraeus several such Advocates are appointed and it appears to have been an honorary Title and great Men were pleased with it Miraeus faith it was accounted a considerable Honour at that time And so by degrees the Founders of Parochial Churches came to have the Title of Patrons and Advocates of them and the Right they injoyed the Right of Advowson as well as Patronage not as some ridiculously talk of Advocat se or Advocat alium because the Trust and Care of those Churches endowed by their Ancestors was fallen to them and they were bound to look after and to defend the Rights of them and so Lyndwood explains it II. The next thing to be considered is the Oblations of the People which in those elder times were so free and large that which may seem incredible now there were Persons who would build Churches on their own Land to have a Share in the Oblations as is affirmed in one of the Spanish Councils and there forbidden with great Severity It was not as the Gloss on the Canon Law understands it to make a Bargain for the Right of Patronage but it is expressed to have an equal Share with the Clergy in the Oblations of the People It is observed by Agabardus That the Devotion of Persons in the first Ages was so great that there was no need to make Laws or Canons for the Supplies of Churches since they were so amply provided for by the Liberality of the People Thence we read of the Deposita pietatis in Tertullian which were voluntary Oblations and out of which were made Divisiones Mensurnae in S. Cyprian and the Sportulae which were the Allowances made to the Clergy out of the common Stock and they who received them and not those who gave them as Mr. Selden fancies were called Sportulantes Fratres and the Allowances were then stiled Stipes Oblationes which were so considerable that St. Cyprian blamed some for their setting their Hearts too much upon them Stipes Oblationes Lucra desiderant quibus prius insatiabiles incubabant which could not be said of any meer necessary Subsistence these they received tanquam Decimas ex fructibus as St. Cyprian speaks in lieu of Tithes at that time when the most of the Christian Church inhabited the Cities and gave out of their Stock to maintain the Church and those who attended upon the Service of it But when Christianity came to spread into the Countries then a more fixed and settled Maintenance was required but so as to retain somewhat of the Ancient Custom in voluntary Oblations No sooner was Christianity settled in France but we read of Lands given to the Church by Clodovaeus after his Conversion these are owned by the first Council of Orleans called in his time A. D. 511. and were put into the Bishop's Hands and to be distributed by him for Repairs of Churches Maintenance of the Clergy and other pious Uses Can. 5. 14 15. But besides these we read still of Oblations made by the people on the Altar both in the Mother-Church and in Parochial Churches If in the Mother-Church one Moiety went to the Bishop the other to the Clergy if in the other only the third Part to the Bishop In the second Council of Mascon Can. 4. we find it required That all the People make an Oblation of Bread and Wine at the Altar and this was A. D. 585. but besides the next Canon insists on the Payment of Tithes as founded on the Law of God and the Ancient Custom of the Church which is thereby reinforced unde statuimus decernimus ut mos antiquus reparetur which Words are not fairly left out by Mr. Selden because they shew that there was only in this Canon a renewing of an Ancient Custom which had obtained but was now growing into Disuse For this Council of Mascon was called on purpose to restore what they found too much declining as to Religion and they begin with the Observation of the Lord's Day and after add this wherein they complain of the Neglect of that which their Predecessors observed as founded on the Law