IV. Sacra, ce menta shop, (a man famed in those times for eloquence,) in an CHAP. epistle which he took the confidence to write to queen Elizabeth about the year 1562: that "all rites and sacra- Anno 1559. ❝ments and sacred things were overthrown to the very remonias "foundations." But Dr. Haddon, master of requests to the et sacraqueen, a grave and wise civilian, and who very well knew what was done in this reformation of the church of Eng- ditus everti, land, took occasion hence, in his epistle responsory to this foreigner, (in no less eloquent a style,) briefly to give him Opuscul. and the world this account of our rites of religion now reformed. omnia fun &c. Haddon, done in the "First, Because faith," said he, "cometh by hearing, we What was "send teachers of the holy scriptures to all the coasts reforma“and corners of our country, to instruct the people in all tion. "the duties of piety, and to inform them in the true wor"ship of God. Then, we have a public form of prayers, "collected out of the sacred scriptures, ratified by au 66 thority of parliament, as we call the assent of the three "estates of the commonwealth; from whence we do not "suffer any to stray or vary. Providing in both, as “much as we can, that the precept of the Holy Ghost "be obeyed, that proclaimeth, He that speaketh in the "church must use the oracle or word of God in it; and “then, that all be of one mind. The sacrament we do, "as near as possible, take care to administer according "to the prescript of scripture and the example of the "ancient church, as our Lord Jesus Christ first insti"tuted it with his disciples. All this is set forth in our "mother tongue: inasmuch as it is a great folly to utter "that before God which we know not what it is; and "it manifestly impugneth the sound doctrine of St. Paul, "together with all ancient examples of the apostolical "churches. We perform the imposition of hands, the ce"lebration of matrimony, the bringing to church women "after childbirth, and the burial of the dead, with solemn "and public offices: that all things may be done in the "churches conveniently and in order, as we know well we 66 are admonished to do in the New Testament. As for IV. CHAP. "times, places, days, and other circumstances, there is in "effect no change made among us: nor in all our religion Anno 1559. " is any thing new, unless what had either evident ab"surdity in it, or express impiety." Thus Haddon. The divine And indeed concerning our holy service thus settled, to service ac- be used in the public worship, it was commonly urged by cording to God's word. the friends of the reformation in those times, how agreeable it was to the holy scripture; that some part of it was the very word of God, and the rest was framed according to that word. And as to that part of it that consisted of the catechism, it was also a great part of it God's express words, (as 86 the ten commandments and the Lord's prayer,) and that it taught young people so much of the knowledge of scripture, that is, God's word, that children hereby knew more of Christian religion, than the oldest before, bred up in the former superstition. For thus did another great divine and bishop (sometime an exile) speak to these offended papists : "Our service hath nothing in it but what is written in "God's book, the holy Bible, (where no lie can be found,) saving Te Deum, and a few collects and prayers; which, although they be not contained in the scripture, yet, dif"fering in words, they agree in sense and meaning with the "articles of the faith, and the whole body of the scripture. "None is so ignorant, but he sees the popish service and "doctrine to agree little with the scriptures, and ours to "contain nothing else but scriptures. . . . . . . Is that new"fangled and schismatical, [as they had charged it,] that "containeth nothing but the doctrine of the prophets and apostles ?" Bishop 66 66 And then again, to prove that our faith is right, as well as our worship, he added, " that the faith of a Christian "man is generally contained in the creed, and particularly "declared in the scripture at large." And then he proceeded, "that we do esteem these articles of the Christian "faith so much, with the Lord's prayer and the ten com"mandments of Almighty God, that by common order it is appointed (and good ministers practise it) that children might learn them, not in a tongue they understand not, as 66 "the pope would have them, but in their mother tongue; CHAP. "with such a short declaration of it by a catechism, that IV. "now a young child of ten years old can tell more of his Anno 1559. duty towards God and man, than an old man of their The cate bringing up can do of sixty or eighty years old." 66 chism. Cranmer's mon Prayer. The great and good archbishop Cranmer's judgment of Archbishop king Edward's Book of Common Prayer may deserve here judgment to have a place. When bishop Gardiner would have fortified of the Comhis corrupt doctrine of the sacrament out of that book, and asserted that the receiving of the body and blood of Christ into our mouths was a teaching set forth there, and there catholicly spoken of, the said archbishop thus answered: "That Cranmer a"the Book of Common Prayer neither used any such speech, gainst Gar 66 66 nor taught any such doctrine; and that he [the archbi shop] did not in any point improve [i. e. disprove] that "godly book, nor vary from it; and that no man could "mislike it, that had any godliness in him, joined with "knowledge." diner, p. 60. churches formation. To which passages let me add, that, as in the beginning of this settlement of religion by this Book of Common Prayer, the papists were the chief persons that were disgusted, and opposed it, so afterwards divers protestants Foreign among ourselves found great fault with it: the vindication rejoice at of which Dr. Bancroft (another archbishop of Canterbury this reafterwards) undertook, in a sermon at St. Paul's, February Dr. Ban1588. Wherein he told his auditory, how glad all the churches croft. of Europe were at this establishment of religion in the beginning of this queen's reign. Then he shewed what pains were taken in reforming the book; and brought divers testimonies of godly learned men, to prove that the book was in a manner void of all reprehension. lish dislike now esta Yet it is true, that divers of our English, in the time of 87 their exile, living and conversing in some of the reformed Some Engchurches abroad, had imbibed a better opinion of the model the liturgy of their church-worship than this at home now established, and were very desirous to bring it in, and use it instead of our liturgy; and certain eminent members of those foreign churches had applied to the queen, for an indulgence to IV. CHAP. these her subjects in this matter. But she, resolving firmly to adhere to her laws, would not permit of this variety of Anno 1559. public worship; and wrote thus courteously, but steadfastly, in answer to them: "That it was not with her safety, “honour, and credit, to permit diversity of opinions in a kingdom where none but she and her council governed; "not owning either imperial or papal powers, as several of "the princes and states there did, and were glad to com"pound with them." And thereby she satisfied several of them. Sir Hen. Sydney's Memor. in Foxes and Firebr. part iii. 66 CHAP. V. A disputation at Westminster in parliament time, between some papists and protestants, before a great assembly of the nobility. The questions. The papists decline the dispute. The argument of the protestants. Jewel's wish for a disputation. The popish disputants punished. A public DURING this session of parliament, there be two or three disputation. other things that must be remembered, relating to religion. Eight and eight on a side. The first is concerning a conference between some popish bishops and other learned men of that communion, and certain protestant divines, held in the month of March, by order of the queen's privy council, to be performed in their presence: eight on one side, and eight on the other. For whereas it is said by the right reverend the author of the History of the Reformation, that there were nine and nine on a side, according as Holinshed indeed sets it down, it is an error; as appears by a letter of Dr. Richard Cox, one of the disputants on the protestants' side, written to Weidner, a learned man at Wormes, therein giving a relation of this conference, mentioning but eight; as likewise by the account thereof kept in the paper office, and transcribed thence into the Collections of the said History of the Reformation, that speaks of four bishops and four doctors Names of only appointed to dispute. And these were White, Watson, Baine, and Scot, bishops of Winchester, Lincoln, Coventry Vol. ii. p. 345. the dis putants. V. and Litchfield, and Chester; and the doctors Cole, dean of CHAP. St. Paul's; Langdale, Harpsfield, and Chedsey, archdeacons of Lewes, Canterbury, and Middlesex: and on the Anno 1559. protestants' side were these eight only; John Scory, late bishop of Chichester, David Whitehead, John Jewel, John Elmer, Richard Cox, Edmund Grindal, Robert Horne, and Edmund Guest; as they are set down by Dr. Mat-88 thew Parker's own hand, at the end of his MS. paper, containing the protestants' discourse upon the first proposition. So the bishop of Carlisle on the papists' side, and Sandys on that of the protestants', are misadded to the aforesaid disputants, though probably they were present at the conference: and we find that the bishop of Carlisle was present the second day; and so was Turbervile, bishop of Exeter, too, and abbot Fecknam. to manage But because the bishop of Sarum in his History, and Mr. Fox before him, have set down at large the transactions of this conference, therefore I shall pass it over with more brevity, only relating somewhat perhaps by them omitted, and rectifying somewhat mistaken. Hethe, archbishop of York, A motion did make the motion, that this dispute should be managed especially by writing: which way was most acceptable also to ing. the protestants; and was once propounded by Hoper, and some other divines in prison under queen Mary, after they saw how unfairly the disputation was carried (all by noise and confusion) with Cranmer and Ridley at Oxford. Bramhall, archbishop of Armagh, approved and required such a way of disputing with some papists that he had to do with. "Conferences," saith he, "in words do often engender Bramhall's Works, p. "heat, or produce extravagancies and mistakes: writing is 987. a way more calm, more certain, and such as a man cannot "depart from :" in his letter to Mrs. Cheubien, in the nunnery. And, according to this motion, the queen ordered it The rules should be managed in writing on both parties, for avoiding of much altercation in words: and she ordered likewise, that the papist bishops should first declare their minds, with their reasons, in writing; and then the others, if they had any thing to say to the contrary, should the same day de 66 of the dis putation. |