Articles to be inquired in the visitation, in the first year of the reign of our most dread Sovereign Lady, Elizabeth by the grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen, defender of the faith. etc. Anno. 1559. ARTICLES. first, whether any Parson, Vicar, 1. Residency. or Curate, be resident continually upon his Benefice, doing his duty in preaching, reading and duly ministering the holy Sacraments. 2. False miracles. Item, whether in their Churches and chapels, all Images, Shrines, all Tables, candlesticks, Trindelles, or rolls of war, pictures, paintings, and all other monuments of feigned and false miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition, be removed, abolished, and destroyed. 3. lords prayer. Item, whether they do not every Holydaye when they have no Sermon, immediately after the Gospel, openly, plainly, and distinctly, recite to their parishioners in the pulpit, the lords prayer, the belief, and the ten Commandments in english. 4. To bring up youth. Item, whether they do charge fathers and mothers, masters, and governors of youth, to bring them up in some virtuous study and occupation. Item, 5. Curates. whether such beneficed men as be lawfully absent from their benefices, do leave their cures to a rude and unlearned Parson, and not to an honest well learned and expert Curate which can and will teach you wholesome doctrine. 6. reading the Scriptures. Item, whether they do discourage any person from reading of any part of the Bible, either in Latin or English, and do not rather comfort and exhort every person to read the same at convenient times, as the very lively word of God, and the special food of man's soul. 7. Taverns and games. Item, whether Parsons, Vicars, Curates, and other ministers, be common haunters and resorters to Taverns or Alehouses, giving themselves to drinking, rioting, and playing at unlawful games, and do not occupy themselves in the reading or hearing of some part of holy Scripture, or in some other godly exercise. Item, 8. Preachers. whether they have admitted any man to preach in their cures, not being lawfully licenced thereunto, or have been licenced accordingly. Item, 9 Superstition. whether they use to declare to their parishioners any thing to the extolling or setting forth of vain and superstitious religion, pilgrimages, relics, or images, or lighting of candles, kissing, kneeling, decking of the same images. Item, 10. Register. whether they have one book or Register kept, wherein they write the day of every wedding, christening, and burying. Item, 11. Obedience. whether they have exhorted the people to obedience to the queens Majesty, and ministers, and to charity and love one to another. 12. The Sacrament. Item, whether they have admonished their parishioners, that they ought not to presume to receive the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ before they can perfectly the lords prayer, the articles of the faith, and the ten commandments in english. Item, 13. Hospitality. whether they be resident upon their benefices, and keep hospitality or no. And if they be absent and keep no hospitality, whether they do relieve their parishioners, and what they give them. Item, whether proprietaries, Parsons, 14. Reparations. Vicars, and clerks, having Churches, chapels, or mansions, do keep their chancels, rectories, Vicarages, and all other houses appertaining to them, in due reparations. 15. Prayer in english. Item, whether they do counsel or move their parishioners rather to pray in a tongue not known, then in english, or put their trust in any certain numbered of prayers, as in saying over a numbered of Beads, Beads. or other like. 16. defamed persons. Item, whether they have received any persons to the communion, being openly known to be out of charity with their neighbours, or defamed with any notorious crime, and not reformed. 17. Poor men's box. Item, whether they have provided and have a strong chest for the poor men's box, and set and fastened the same in a place of the Church most convenient. Item, 18. Testaments. whether they have diligently called upon, exhorted and moved their parishioners, and especially when they make their testaments, to give to the said poor men's box, and to bestow that upon the poor, Poor men's box. which they were wont to bestow upon pilgrimages, pardons, trentals, and upon other like blind devotions. 19 sick. burial. Item, whether they have denied to visit the sick, or bury the dead, being brought to the Church. Item, 20. simony. whether they have bought their benefices, or come to them by fraud, guile, deceit, or simony. Item, 21. Adulterers. whether they have given open monition to their parishioners, to detect and present to their Ordinary, all adulterers and fornicators, and such men as have two wives living, within their parishes. 22. Church goods. Item, whether they have monished their parishioners openly, that they should not sell, give, nor otherwise alienate any of their Church goods. 23. Many Benefices. Item, whether they or any of them do keep more benefices and other Ecclesiastical promotions, than they ought to do, not having sufficient licences and dispensations thereunto, and how many they be, and their names. Item, 24. Communion. whether they minister the holy Communion any otherwise, then only after such form and manner as it is set forth by the common authority of the queens Majesty, and the parliament. 25. Letters of the word or preaching. Item, whether you know any person within your parish, or else where, that is a letter of the word of God to be read in english, or sincerely preached in place and times convenient. 26. Goers out of the Church. Item, whether in the time of the tyranny, or any other common prayer, in the time of the Sermon or Homely, and when the Priest readeth the Scriptures to the parishioners, any person have departed out of the Church, without just and necessary cause, or disturb the Minister otherwise. 27. Church money. Item, whether the money coming and rising of any cattle or other movable stocks of the Church, and money given and bequeathed to the finding of torches, lights, tapers, or lamps, not paid out of any lands, have not been employed to the poor men's chest. 28. keepers of the Church money. Item, who hath the said stocks and money in their hands, and what be their names. 29. Contempt of Priests. Item, whether any indiscrete persons do uncharitably contemn and abuse Priests and Ministers of the Church. 30. The kings Grammar. Item, whether there be any other Grammar taught in any school within this Diocese, then that which is set forth by the authority of king Henry th'eight. 31. The time of service. Item, whether the service of the Church be done at due and convenient hours. 32. Talkers in the Church. Item, whether any have used to common, tangle, and talk in the Church in the time of the prayer, reading of the homily, preaching, reading or declaring of the Scripture. Item, 33. Heresies. whether any have wilfully maintained and defended any heresies, errors, or false opinions, contrary to the faith of christ and holy Scripture. Item, 34. Drunkards whether any be common drunkards, swearers, or blasphemers of the name of God. Item, 35. Adulterers. whether any have committed adultery, fornication, or incest, or be common bawds, or receivers of such evil persons, or vehemently suspected of any of the premises. Item, 36. Brawlers. whether any be brawlers, slanderers, chyders, scolders, and sowers of discord between one person and another. Item, 37. Sorcerers. whether you know any that do use charms, sorcery, enchantments, invocations, circles, witchcrafts, soothsaying, or any like crafts or imaginations invented by the devil, and specially in the time of women's travail. Item, 38. pulpits. whether the Churches, pulpits, and other necessaries appertaining to the same, be sufficiently repaired, and if they be not, in whose default the same is. 39 Resorters to other Churches. Item, whether you know any, that in contempt of their own parish Church, do resort to any other Church. Item, 40. Inholders. whether any Inholders, or Alehouse-kepers, do use commonly to sell meat & drink in the time of common prayer, preaching, reading of the homilies or Scripture. Item, 41. Divorce. whether you know any to be married within the degrees prohibited by the laws of God, or that be separated or divorced without the degrees prohibited by the law of God, and whether any such have married again. 42. Privy contracts. Item, whether you know any to have made privy contracts of matrimony, not calling two or more witnesses thereunto, nor having thereto the consent of their parents. Item, 43. Banes. whether they have married solemnly, the banes not first lawfully asked. Item, 44. Erecutours whether you know any executors or administrators of dead men's goods, which do not duly bestow such of the said goods as were given and bequeathed, or appointed to be distributed among the poor people, repairing of high ways, finding of poor scholars, or marrying or poor maidens, or such other like charitable deeds. Item, 45. Images. whether you know any that keep in their houses undefaced, any Images, Tables, Pictures, paintings, or other monuments of feigned and false miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition, and do adore them, and specially such as have been set up in Churches, Chapelles, or Oratories. Item, 46. Books. what Books of God's Scripture you have delivered to be burnt, or otherwise destroyed, and to whom ye have delivered the same. Item, 47. Bribes. what bribes the accusers, promoters, persecutors, Ecclesiastical judges, and other the Commissioners appointed within the several Diocese of this Realm, have received by themselves or other, of those persons which were in trouble, apprehended, or imprisoned for Religion. 48. Loss of goods. Item, what goods, movable lands, fees, offices, or promotions, hath been wrongfully taken away in the time of Queen Mary's reign, from any person which favoured the Religion now set forth. 49. How many burned. Item, how many persons for Religion have died by fire, famine, or otherwise, or have been imprisoned for the same. 50. Certificate of the dead. Item, that you make a true presentment of the number of all the persons which died within your parishes, sithen the feast of Saint john the Baptist, which was in the year of our Lord God a thousand five hundredth fifty and eight, unto the same feast last passed. Making therein a plain distinct declaration, how many men, women, and men children the same were. And the names of the men. 51. secret Masses. Item, whether ye know any man in your parish, secretly or in unlawful conventicles, say or hear Mass, or any other service prohibited by the law. 52. False rumours. Item, whether you know any person in your Paryshe, to be a slanderer of his neighbours, or a sour of discord between party and party, man and wife, parents and their children, or that hath invented, bruited, or set forth any rumours, Unlawful books. false and seditious tales, slanders, or makers, bringers, buyers, sellers, keepers, or conveyors, of any unlawful books, which might stir or provoke sedition, or maintain superstitious service within this Realm, or any aydours, counsellors, procurers, or maintainers thereunto. 53. Patron. Tithes. Vacation. Item, whether the Church of your parish be now vacant or no, who is the Patron thereof, how long it hath been vacant, who doth receive the tithes, oblations, and other commodities during the time of the vacation, and by what authority, and in what estate the said Church is at this time, and how long the Parson, or Vicar hath had that Benefice. Item, 54. Minstrels. whether any Minstrels, or any other persons do use to sing or say any songs or ditties that be vile or unclean, and especially in derision of any Godly order now set forth and established. 55. Litany in english. Item, whether the Litany in english, with the Epistle & Gospel, which was by the queens highness Proclamation willed to be read to the people, were put in use in your Churches, and if not, who were the letters thereof. 56. Distinct reading. Item, whether the Curates and Ministers do leisurely, plainly, and distinctly, read the public Prayers, Chapters, and homilies, as they ought to do. God save the Queen. IMPRINTED AT LONDON IN Paul's Church yard by Richard jug and john Cawood, Printers to the queens Majesty. ΒΆ Cum privilegio Regiae Maiestatis.