CHAPTER XV. MATTERS OF THE CHURCH, AND ITS STATE NOW. LET me now crave a little room to set down some matters that relate to the church, coming within the compass of this year, which will shew what mean advances religion as yet had made in the nation. 204 popery re Divers relics of popery still continued in the nation, Relics of by means partly of the bishops, partly of the justices of maining. peace, popishly affected. In London bishop Boner drove on but heavily in the king's proceedings, though he outwardly complied. In his cathedral church there remained still the apostles' mass, and our lady's mass, and other masses under the defence and nomination of our lady's communion, used in the private chapels, and other remote places of the same church, though not in the chancel; contrary to the king's proceedings. Therefore the lord protector, and others of the council, wrote to the bishop, June 24, complaining of this, and ordering that no such Foxe's masses should be used in St. Paul's church any longer; and that the holy communion, according to the act of parliament, should be ministered at the high altar of the church, and in no other place of the same, and only at such times as the high masses were wont to be used; except some number of people, for their necessary business, desired to have a communion in the morning; and yet the same to be exercised in the chancel at the high altar, as was appointed in the book of Public Service*. Accord * [The following is the "letter directed from the king's council to Edmund Boner, bishop of London, for abrogating of private masses, namely, the apostles' mass, within the church of St. Acts. ingly Boner directed his letters to the dean and chapter of Paul's, to call together those that were resident, and to declare these mattersy. that your cathedral church, there be as yet the apostles' mass, and our lady's mass, and other masses of such peculiar name, under the defence and nomination of our lady's communion, and the apostles' communion, used in private chapels and other remote places of the same, and not in the chancel, contrary unto the king's majesty's proceedings, the same being, for the misuse, displeasing to God; for the place of Paul's, in example not tolerable; for the fondness of the name, a scorn to the reverence of the communion of the Lord's body and blood; we, for the augmentation of God's glory and honour, and the consonance of his majesty's laws, and the avoiding of murmur, have thought good to will and command you, that, from henceforth, no such masses in this manner be in your church any longer used, but that the holy blessed communion, according to the act of parliament, be ministered at the high altar of the church, and in no other places of the same, and only at such time as your high masses were wont to be used, except some number of people desire for their necessary business to have a communion in the morning, and yet the same to be executed in the chancel at the high altar, as it is appointed in E. SOMERSET. Foxe's Acts and Monuments, p. 1302. ed. Lond. 1583; see Heylin's Hist. of Reformat. p. 74. ed. Lond. 1674.] "To y [The following is the letter of Edmund Boner to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, sent with the order in council. my right worshipful friends and most loving good brethren, Mr. dean of St. Paul's,* with all the canons, residentiaries, prebendaries, sub-deans and ministers of the same, and every of them, with speed. Right worshipful, with most hearty commendations. So it is this Wednesday, the 26th of June, going to dinner, I received * William May. gives orders tices. As it was thus in London, so in the countries, too many The council of the justices were slack in seeing to the execution of the to the jusking's laws, relating not only to religion, but to other affairs. And in some shires that were further distant, the people had never so much as heard of the king's proclamation, by the default of the justices, who winked at the people's neglect thereof. For the quickening of the justices of peace at this time, when a foreign invasion was daily expected, and foreign power was come into Scotland to aid that nation against England, the lord protector and the privy-council assembled at the Star-chamber, and called before them all the justices, (which was a thing accustomed sometimes to be done, for the justices to appear before the king and council, there to have admonitions and warnings given them for the discharge of their duty). And then the lord chancellor Rich made a speech to them, "That they should repair down into their several countries with speed; and give warning to other gentlemen to go down to their houses, and there to see good order and rule kept, that their sessions of gaol-delivery, and quarter-sessions be well observed, that vagabonds and seditious talebearers of the king or his council, and such as preached without license, be repressed and punished. That if there should be any uproars, or routs, and riots of lewd fellows, or privy traitors, they should appease them. should chance to arise in any letters from the king's council by a pursuivant, and the same I do send now herewith unto you, to the intent you may peruse them well, and proceed accordingly : praying you in case all be not present, yet those that be now resident, and supplying the places, may, in their absence, call the CRANMER, VOL. II. And that if any enemy 205 company together of the church, N And writes to the bishops. should fire the beacons, as had been wrote to them before, and repulse the same in as good array as they could. And that for that purpose they should see diligently that men have horse, harness, and other furniture of weapon ready." And to the bishops the council now sent letters again for redress of the contempt and neglect of the Book of Common-Prayer, which to this time, long after the publishing thereof, was either not known at all to many, or very irreverently used; occasioned especially by the winking of the bishops, and the stubborn disobedience of old popish curates. The letter is dated the 23d of July, and is extant in Foxea. z [For the "exhortation or admonition" addressed by the lord chancellor Rich "unto the justices of peace," see Foxe's Acts and Monuments, pp. 1302, 3. ed. Lond. 1583.] a ["What zealous care was in this young king, and in the lord protector his uncle, concerning reformation of Christ's church, and sincere religion, by these injunctions, letters, precepts, and exhortations, as well to the bishops as to the justices of the realm above premised, it may right well appear. Whereby we have to note, not so much the careful diligence of the king and his learned council as the lingering slackness and drawing back, on the other side, of divers, the said justices, and lawyers, but especially of bishops, and old popish curates, by whose cloaked contempt, wilful winking, and stubborn disobedience, the book of Common-prayer was, long after the publishing thereof, either not known at all, or else very irreverently used, throughout many places of this realm; which, when the king by complaint of divers, perfectly understood, being not a little aggrieved, to see the godly agreement of the learned, the willing consent of the parliament, and his grace's own zealous desire, to take so small effect among his subjects, [he] decreed presently, with the advice of his whole council, again to write unto all the bishops of his realm, for speedy and diligent redress therein; willing and commanding them thereby, that as well they themselves should, thenceforth, have a more special regard to the due execution of the premises, as also that all others, within their several precincts and jurisdiction should, by their good instructions and willing example, be the more oftener and with better devotion, moved In London, by the connivance and remissness of the Neglect in bishop, many neglected the divine service then established: to use and frequent the same : as further appeareth by the contents of his letter here ensuing. "Another letter directed by the king and his council, to Boner, bishop of London, partly rebuking him of negligence, partly charging him to see to the better setting out of the Service-book within his diocese. Right reverend father in God: right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well: and whereas after great and serious debating and long conference of the bishops, and other grave and well learned men in the holy Scriptures, one uniform order for common-prayers and administration of the sacraments, hath been, and is, most godly set forth, not only by the common agreement and full assent of the nobility and commons of the late session of our late parliament, but, also by the like assent of the bishops in the same parliament, and of all others, the learned men of this our realm in their synods, and convocations provincial: like as it was much to our comfort, to understand the godly travail then diligently and willingly taken for the true opening of things mentioned in the said book, whereby the true service and honour of almighty God, and the right ministration of the sacraments being well and sincerely set forth, according to the Scriptures and use of the primitive church, much idolatry, vain superstition, and great and slanderous abuses be taken away: so it is no small occasion of sorrow unto us, to understand, by the complaints of many, that our said book, so much travailed for, and also sincerely set forth, (as is aforesaid), remaineth, in many places of this our realm, either not known at all, or not used; or, at the least, if it be used, very seldom, and that in such light and irreverent sort, as the people, in many places either have heard nothing, or, if they hear, they neither understand, nor have that spiritual delectation in the same, that to good Christians appertaineth. The fault whereof, like as we must of reason impute to you, and other of your vocation, called by God through our appointment to have due respect to this and such like matters: so, considering that by these and such like occasions, our loving subjects remain yet still in their old blindness, and superstitious errors, and, in some places, in an irreligious forgetfulness of God, whereby His wrath may be provoked upon us and them: and remembering withal, that amongst other cures committed to our princely charge, we think this the greatest, to see the glory and true service of Him maintained and extolled, by whose clemency we knowledge London. |