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A60706 Sober advice to church-wardens in a letter to a church-warden in London, from his friend out o7the countrey, and may serve indifferently for constables, and others, who are required to make presentments for not going to their parish-churches, or communicating, &c. 1683 (1683) Wing S4400; ESTC R41687 10,566 15

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SOBER ADVICE TO CHURCH-WARDENS IN A LETTER TO A CHURCH-WARDEN IN LONDON From his Friend out of the Countrey And may serve indifferently for Constables and others who are required to make Presentments for not going to their Parish-Churches Communicating c. Id Tantum possumus quod Jure possumus LONDON Printed for F. Smith Senior at the Elephant and Castle in Cornhill 1683. Kind Friend I Received yours and am heartily sorry to hear of the severity used and intended against Protestant Dissenters for their Nonconformity because I am throughly perswaded many of them are sincere and harmless in their Dissent and give as good Testimony of their being so as we generally do of our sincerity in our Dissent from Popery however cannot be condemned to Penalties without Infringment of our Protestant Principles But since some of our Ecclesiastical Rulers and Judges are not of this mind but requires by publick charge that all Persons Aged above Sixteen Years should take the Sacrament now at Easter or to be presented by the Churchwardens or Minister of the place to be proceeded against by Excommunication with all its grievous Concomitants and Consequents whereof perpetual Imprisonment is now in the least You desire my advice What you being sworn Church-warden should do in this case You are very loath to have so great a hand in the Ruin of your honest Neighbours for their Conscience towards God and on the other side you must be true to that Duty which you have obliged your self before God to perform You know my Friend I am not one of the Learned in the Common nor Civil Laws and therefore can only tell you what course my self a private Person willing to keep a good Conscience towards God and towards Men would do in such a case And you are pleased to tell me you therefore desire my advise because that I being of like condition and in like circumstances with your self am more likely to give advice fit for you than they whose education has enured their minds to Subtilties and Quirks of Law I can easily grant the Reason you give of your Choice to be good but I cannot allow your application of it to me for though I am resolved in the power of God to be honest yet there is another quality wanting to make me a fit adviser in so nice a case to wit an understanding well exercised in discerning between good and evil and things indifferent But I may remember you only desire to know my opinion you do not oblige your self to follow it neither would I have you to do so without better Judgments then I can pretend to except you find my Reasons to be convincing In the first place I am sorry you have taken the Church-wardens Oath which obliges you to Execute the Office of a Church-warden in your Parish for the ensuing Year according to his Majesties Laws Ecclesiastical for its a difficulty scarcely to be overcome by the most Skilful to resolve what Ecclesiastical Laws are in force what not therefore beyond your capacity to execute according to what you know not and give me leave to mind you by the way that Reason Equity and Religion requires that we should never proceed to imputation of Crimes or Executions of Penalties in doubtful Cases In matters of favour and benefit we may be liberal but in matters of hurt and damage to our Neighbour we should be so far from any thing of that nature in a controverted point that we should not go to the utmost the Law allows though in a most clear Case Now if the Statute of 1 Edw. 6. chap. 2. be revived by Repeal of that Statute which Repealed it the Ecelesiastical Persons ought to use the Kings Name and Seal to their Processes and their holding Courts in their own Names is contrary to Law However it is at least doubtful whether they have any legal Power and likewise whether any of their Cannons have any force of Law If then you make presentments to those Courts whereby your Neighbour is vexed and indamaged you know not but you may therein be injurous to your Neighbour without legal Authority which no wife and conscientious Man will venture But Secondly I conceive that a Man chosen Church-warden may lawfully refuse that Oath as being contrary to Law as may appear by a Statute made in the Thirteenth of this King chap. 2. and incited in the prohibition for Waterfield where it is enacted that it shall not be lawful for any Arch-Bishop Bishop Vicar General Chancellour Commissary or any other Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Judge Officer or Minister or any other Person having or exercising Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction to Tender Offer or Administer to any Person whatsoever the Oath usually called the Oath ex Officio or any other Oath whereby such Persons to whom the same is Tendered or Administred may be charged or compelled to confess or accuse or purge him or her self of any criminal matter or thing whereby he or she may be liable to Consures or Punishments But I am perswaded that no Man that makes Conscience of an Oath but will find himself obliged by the Laws Ecclesiastical supposing all those to be in force which the Official says are in force burdened and compelled to confess or accuse himself of some criminal matter or thing and therefore such Oath ought not to be Administred to him However having taken that Oath you must endeavour to perform it as well as you can without breach of the Laws of God or Laws of the Land which latter must always give place to the former and by them be made new or interpreted In the next place as to the business of presenting those of above Sixteen Years of Age that come not to the Sacrament at Easter First I say it is contrary to Christianity and all civility of Neighbourhood to present a Man as a Criminal so to expose him to so dreadful a Sentence as Excommunication and all Calamities that attend it without first discoursing their Neighbour to know what he can say for himself in Vindication for in this Case the presentment of one or two Church-wardens is of as much force and more dangerous consequence than the presentment of Twelve or more of the most substantial Men of the County in civil Cases and therefore the least that the Church-warden can do is to hear what his Neighbour can say for himself before he put him into so much trouble and danger as such an accusation amounts to For there may be divers lawful and reasonable Excuses of a Man 's not coming to Church such a Month or not coming to the Communion at Easter as for instance suppose a Man be Sick and not able to come or have had business abroad for One Two or Three Months together at the time of Easter are not these and such like lawful Excuses I remember the Statute of Eliz. 23. chap. 1. to retain the Queens Majesties Subjects in their due obedience made against Papists