not lawfully licensed; doth he or any other preachers, remayning in your parishes, at some times every yere, personallie, say the publick service and administer the holy communion himself, according to the said book of 5 common prayer or noe; doth he, or any other, keepe any exercise of expoundinge, or reade any lecture in private howses, whereunto other, besides those of that famylye, do resorte? III. Whether upon Sabbath days, and holie dayes, 10 doth your minister call for, and instructe the youth of his parish in the catechisme, and principles of Christian religion; and whether likewise, once every Sabbath day, put the churchwardens in mynde of ther duty, as well to note who absentes themselves from divine service, 15 and upon the goodes and cattles of such to levye xiid. a peece for every default, to the use of the poor, as such also who unreverentlie there behave themselves; and 20 formity (13 and 14 Charles II. c. 4.) made such ordination indispensable for the future. Inseparably connected with the question of episcopal ordination was another tenet which could not fail to be brought into immediate discussion, the divine right of episcopacy as a superior order to that of presbyters. Up to this period it had been usual to consider bishops and priests as of the same order; but Dr. Bancroft in the well-known 25 sermon preached by him on the 9th of Feb. 1589, maintained the superiority of bishops jure divino; and though lord Burghley and sir F. Knollys objected against it as interfering with the queen's supremacy, and the puritans were unanimously opposed to it, it appears to have been the prevailing doctrine of the church since that period, and 30 to have been approved and sanctioned by the convocation in 1606. It received however its most complete acknowledgment in the time of archbishop Laud, and on the publication of bishop Hall's celebrated treatise, entitled, "Episcopacie by Divine right asserted." The part of Dr. Bancroft's sermon which bears upon the subject, and which 35 Mr. Hallam appears to have overlooked (see Const. Hist. vol. i. p. 428), is to be found at p. 97 of the edition printed immediately after the delivery of the sermon. See No. CXLIX. Strype, Whitg. vol. i. P. 559. Ann. vol. iii. P. 2. p. 98. Biog. Brit. art. Bancroft. Overal Convoc. Book, Canon 6, &c. 4 whether do the churchwardens perform that duty accordinglie? IV. Whether hath your minister used the form of thanksgiving after childebirth, for any woman unlawfullie begotten with child, otherwise then upon a sab-5 bath day, or holy day, in time of publick prayer; and also with publick acknowlegment of her sinne, in such forme as the ordinarie has prescribed? V. Whether doth your minister in public prayer time wear a surplesse, and go abroad apparelled, as by her 10 majesties injunctions and advertisements prescribed; doth he privately exercise himself in godly prayer, and study, and with other convenient exercise for his vocation; doth he kepe any suspected woman in his house, resorte to any infamous houses, use any light-disposed company; 15 is he a swearer, gamester, common hunter or hawker, unsemely in apparel, or giveth any just occasion of offence, or evil example of life; is he probable suspected to have attained any spiritual living through any symonical compact, made by himself, or any other for him, 20 eyther directly or indirectly; is he a common resorter to tavern or alehowses, or doth suffer any wine, ale, beere, or victual to be sold in his parsonage, or vicaridge house or no? VI, Whether hath your minister, or any other what- 25 soever, spoken against any parte of the booke of common prayer, or against any of the articles agreed upon by the clergy of both the provinces anno MDLXII. in a synod holden at London; or defended any popery, or other erronious, seditious, or schismatical opinions? 30 VII. Whether are any in your parish suspected to reserve any monument of superstition or idolatrye, to resort to any masse, or other service disallowed, or to any popishe prieste for shrifte; or any in your parish suspected to receive into their houses, or companie, any 35 jesuites, preists, seminary men, or other like fugitives disguised, or suspected persons, or to be reconciled to the church of Rome; are ther any which do not, according to the law, both resorte to divine service publickly in the church, and also communicate the holy sacrament 5 as is required? VIII. Whether doth any in your parish teach children publickly, or in any man's house privately; is such licensed by the ordinary; is he known to resorte to publick service, and to be of sound religion; doth he 10 teach the catechism to his schollars, which was set out for that purpose; and doth he train up his schollars in knowlege of true religion now established, and in obedience to the prince or no? IX. Whether are your hospitals and almeshouses used 15 according to the foundation and ordinance of the same, and such only placed in them as be most impotent and nedye; and whether legacies, and other sommes of money, given and set forth for such other good and godly uses, be employed according to the intent of the 20 givers? X. Whether have anie married within the forbidden degrees, consanguinitie or affinitie; any separated in that respect, do keep company still together; any lawfully married, which offensively live asunder, or which have 25 married elsewhere; any man which has two wives, or woman two husbandes; are ther in your parish any incestuous, adulterous, or incontinent persons; any common drunkards, rybaldes, swearers, slanderers, uncharitable, sorcerers, charmers, usurers, or vehemently sus30 pected of these or any of them? XI. Whether any in your parish have departed this life, whose wills are not proved; doth any administer or intermedle with the deades goods, without authoritie from the ordinarie for the time being; hath any wills 35 been proved, or administrations granted since the 27th of February last; what be their names and surnames, which offend against this or any other the aforesaid articles? XII. Whether hath anie ordinary, register, clerke, or apparitor concealed, or winked at any offendor, presented, or commuted any publick satisfaction, or punishment for 5 money, without most urgent cause, and publick testification in the church of the offenders repentance, or in such case hath not wholie imployed the same to godly uses; and whether hath any of them enacted excessive or unaccustomed fees in anie ecclesiastical matter whatsoever? 10 XIII. Whether is your minister a preacher; hath he any other living ecclesiastical; where doth he remayne, and abyde, for the most part; what is his living yerely worth by common estimation; and of whose patronage in fee is such living; of what age and degree of scholes 15 is he, as you have heard or do conjecture? XIV. Whether hath in your parish, being such as refuse to come to divine service, any children; of what age, where and with whom do they remain; have such, or any other, any children, kinsfolkes, or freinds beyond the seas; did they depart with license; how long agone; and in what partes on the other syde of the sea do they remain, as you know, have heard or do conjecture; and what releife have they from any in your parish, or from any other within her majestys dominions? 20 25 XV. Generallie you shall, by the othe you have taken, make diligent inquisition and trewly present in writing not only the names and surnames of all, who have offended, are suspected, or are touched in anie of these articles, but also who have offended, or are suspected to 30 have offended against any parte of the queens injunctions, or any ecclesiastical lawe of this realme. CIII. IO Archiepisc. Cant. Anno Christi Reg. Angliæ A letter from the archbishop of Cant. to the bishop of Lincoln, concerning the admittance of unmeet persons into the ministry.- -E Libro Instrument. Episc. Lincoln. 66 fol. 73. SALUT ALUTEM in Christo." It hath plesed her majesty of late to signifie unto me, that she is informed little or no redresse at all to be concerning the admittaunce of unmeet men into the ministry, and suffering 5 such as are dissolute in life to remain therein; giving unto me very straight charge to loke diligently unto it. And although I hope the information is not true, but rather devised by some that can be contente to take occasion to seek the disgrace of the present estate of the clergy, and that for the time I satisfied her highness; yet for a more satisfaction therein, and for the better discharge of my duty, I do earnestly pray your lordship, with as much speed as you can, not only to certifie me of all those that you have admitted into any degree of the 15 ministry, since the last convocation, together with their degrees and qualities; but also in like manner such as you have admitted to any benefice, or to serve any cure within your diocesse, since the last time. And further to send unto me the names, degrees, learning, and qualities 20 of all the ministers within your diocesse, according to the canon of the articles agreed upon in the last convocation, entituled, "De inquisitione per episcopos ineunda;" desiring your lordship to loke diligently to the observing of all the said articles, which as yet you have not done, 25 because I am not certified in many points according to |