ARTICLES Ministered by the Reverend Father in God Anthony by the grace of God Bishop of Chichester to the Churchwardens throughout the whole Diocese of Chichester, at the visitation begun there the 6 of September 1600, and to be inquired of quarterly within the said Diocese.  
Imprinted at London for Thomas Charde. 1600.   

Articles to be inquired of within the Diocese of Chichester.  

Touching the place of Common Prayer in the Church.  
WHether the Chancel, Church and Chapel be sufficiently repaired as well in stone, Timber, Lead, tile, Glass, as all other necessary things, & if they be not, through whose default this is omitted.  
2 Whether your Churchyard be sufficiently fenced and decently kept, & the trees therein growing not spoiled.  
3 Whether the walls of the Church be within whited, & beautified with fruitful sentences out of the holy Scriptures: and paved comely in the body of the Church & the Chancel.  
4 Whether you have in your parish Church & Chapel, all things necessary for the setting forth of common prayer and administration of the Sacraments, namely the book of Common prayer, two Psalters in prose and meeter: the English Bible in the largest volume, which now is authorized by consent of the Bishops of this Realm: the two tomes of Homilies: the Paraphrases of Erasmus in English: the table of the ten Commandments of God: a convenient Pulpit well placed, a decent table standing on a frame, for the holy Communion, with a fair linen cloth to lay upon the same, and some covering of silk, buccharam, or other such like, for the keeping clean thereof, a comely Communion Cup of silver, with a cover of silver for the same, which may serve for the administration of the Communion Bread: a decent Surplus with large sleeves: a Register book in parchment of christenings, weddings, & burials: a sure coffer with three locks & keys for the keeping of the said register book.  
5 Whether all monuments of superstition be defaced and clean removed: as Altars, Roodeloftes, Copes, Vestments, Holy water, Stocks, Images, and all popish books either Latin or English.  
6 Whether you have a Clerk, Sexton, or deacon, to assist your priest dutifully in reading the psalms, first lesson, the Epistle, and such other services: & also to keep the books and ornaments of the Church, the Church itself, the quire, the Communion table, the Pulpit & the Font, fair clean and decent, against the time of service of the Communion, Sermon and Baptism, and by whom he is chosen.   

Touching service used in the Church.  
7 Whether there be any within your parish, or else where near about the same, and within this Diocese, to your knowledge or as you have heard, that cometh not to Church, but is a recusant in that point: or that cometh, but useth not to stay during the time of divine service and Sermons, or doth not receive the Communion in his parish Church, three times yearly at the least.  
8 Whether do you know or have heard any within your parish, or near about the same, within this diocese, to hear or say Mass, or any other service not publicly allowed, or to receive, entertain, or lodge any priests, seminaries, jesuits, or other depravers or mistikers of the Ecclesiastical state or government, and what be their names.  
9 Whether you do know or have heard of any, within your parish or near about the same, within this Diocese that useth to dissuade any person from the Religion now professed, or to persuade any to the Romish religion.  
10 Whether doth your Parson, Vicar, or Curate, or the Parson, Vicar, or Curate, or any other of any other parish within this Diocese, near unto you, to your knowledge, or as you have heard, upon sundays and holidays, use to say morning and Evening Prayer, and the Litany distinctly, and in such manner & form, and under such words as are set forth and prescribed in and by the book of Common Prayer: if no, than what other form or manner, hath he or doth he or they use, & what hath he or they omitted or added in any of the premises, other than is in the said book expressed.  
11 Whether doth your Parson, Vicar or Curate, or the Parson, Vicar, or Curate, or any other of any other parish, within this Diocese, and near about you, to your knowledge or as you have heard, use the ministration of the Lords Supper and Baptism, the instruction of children, solemnisation of Matrimony, the visitation of the sick, the burial of the dead, and the churching of women, in such manner and form, and under such words, rites and ceremonies, as are set forth and prescribed in & by the said book of Common prayer: if no, than what other form doth he or they use, and what hath he or they used to add or omit of, in or about the premises, or any of them: & doth he or they use to omit the Ring in Marriage, and crossing the Child's head in Baptism.  
12. Whether hath your Parson, Vicar or Curate, or any other within your parish, or else where near about the same, & within this Diocese, to your knowledge, or as you have heard, preached, declared, uttered, or found fault with, or spoken any thing against the said book of Common prayer, or any thing in the said book expressed, or against any doctrine, office, function, or calling Ecclesiastical, within this Realm by public authority established: or against the ordinance & election of Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, or any of them, and what was the same thing or fault so found, uttered declared, or preached, and by whom.  
13 Whether hath your Parson, Vicar, or Curate, or any other within your parish or else where, near about the same, and within this Diocese, to your knowledge or as you have heard, preached, declared, uttered, spoken, or signified in writing, word or deed, any thing in liking, maintaining, extolling, commending, or persuading, of any other doctrine, discipline or any other form of Common prayer, election or ordination of any other offices, officers Deacons, Pastors, Elders, presbyteries or Ecclesiastical Censures, then are by the laws and statutes of this Realm established.  
14 Whether you have on Wednesdays and Fridays service in your church and chapel, according to order appointed for all our necessities set forth by authority.  
15 Whether your Parson, Vicar, or Curate, do every sunday when there is no sermon, read plainly some part of the Homilies prescribed to be read: or whether any of them not being found to have sufficient ability to preach, or not lawfully admitted thereunto, do take upon them to expound any part of the scripture & thereby omit the reading of the homilies.  
16 Whether the Communion be administered every month, where there be forty households in the parish otherwise once every quarter at the least at the discretion of the Minister.  
17 Whether your Minister, or any other within the parish or else where in this Diocese, to your knowledge or as you have heard, hath published, spread abroad, delivered, sold, or uttered, or received, retained, or kept any English books set forth by an English papist beyond the seas, either against the queens majesties supremacy in matters Ecclesiastical: or against true Religion and Catholic doctrine, now received or set forth by any other within this Realm or else where, against the state of the Archbishops, Bishops, and Clergy of this Realm: or against the doctrine, orders & ceremonies now retained by public authority.  
18 Whether your Parson, Vicar, or Curate, do preach or cause to be preached, every month one Sermon at the least, and whether therein they do four times in the year, teach the people that all foreign usurped authority is justly abolished: and that the queens Majesty is and aught to be the supreme governor over all persons, & in all causes, as well Ecclesiastical as civil, within her dominions.   

Baptism.  
19 Whether your Children that be in no great peril of death, be baptized after the last lesson of Morning prayer at the Font, upon the sunday or holy day next after the birth thereof, with Godfathers and Godmothers that can say the Catechism, the Lords Prayer, the Articles of the Christian faith, & the ten Commandments, and whether your Minister hath refused to baptize any child at any day in the week, in case of great weakness.  
20 Whether any child borne within your parish, hath not been baptized in your parish Church.  
21 Whether your children baptized at home in cases of extreme weakness and infirmity, be brought to the Church after their recovery, that the Minister may examine whether they be lawfully baptized or no.   

Matrimony.  
22 Whether they have married any manner of persons with out the banes ask three several sundays or holy days in time of divine service, in the presence of the people.  
23 Whether they have solemnized any marriage in the night season, or at unlawful time of the day.  
24 Whether they have married any of divers parishes with out a certificate of the banes ask, from the Minister or Curate, where the parties dwell, or else do solemnize any marriage out of their own Church, or marry any in their own Church, which be not of their own parish.  
25 Whether your Minister or Curate exhorteth young persons not to make any contract of marriage privately or openly, with out the consent of their parents & friends that have authority over them, according to God's law and man's law.  
26 Whether they marry any that cannot say perfectly the Lords prayer, the articles of a Christian man's faith, and the ten commandments of God.  
27 Whether any man have two wives, or any woman two husbands.   

Visiting the sick.  
28 Whether they have been diligent according to their duty, in visiting and adminstring unto the sick, to call the lost sheep to Christ's fold by repentance, comforting them with godly and wholesome sentences out of the sacred scripture & God's word, whereby they may put their whole trust in the mercies of God in Christ's death our Saviour, contemning the world, and in forgiving all men as they would be forgiven at God's hand.  
29 Whether they have exhorted all persons, aswell in health as in sickness, to make their Testaments, and dispose their goods, for the discharging of their consciences, the quietness of their wives and children, & satisfying of the world.  
30 Whether they do exhort their parishioners to cause a bell to be tolled for them & their families in the time of their sickness, to the intent they may be commended unto God's mercy by the prayers of other men.  
31 Whether they have called upon them that have made their testaments, to bestow according to their ability some part of their goods upon the true works of mercy: as upon the poor and needy, upon the fatherless and motherless, upon desolate widows and marriages of poor maidens, upon the maintenance of the ministry & Schools, upon the reparations of the Church, high ways and such like, and whether the Churchwardens call for the same.  
32 Whether they have been diligent to bury the dead being brought to the Churchyard, using no other ceremony than is appointed for burials.  
33 Whether after the decease of any person there is any more ringing then one short peal before the burial, and an other after the burial.  
34 Whether there be any excessive ringing or tolling used upon sundays or holidays, or their evens, saving to common prayer, and to a Sermon, or such as do not tend to superstition, and to the maintenance of popish purgatory and of prayer for the dead.   

Commination.  
35 Whether they use out of the pulpit in a public assembly to read the commination against sinners once every quarter, immediately after the Litany is said upon some sunday or holiday.   

Touching the Function of Ministers.  
36 Whether your Parson, Vicar, or Curate, do travail diligently & painfully, according to their ability to set forth true religion, to adorn the same with the examples of good life, to beat down, vice, superstition, Idolatry, papistry, & all manner of heresies: to exhort all men to unity, peace, and brotherly love, & to their dutiful obedience to their Prince & such as he in authority under her, unto the diligent hearing, reading, and teaching of God's word.  
37. Whether they endeavour to have the parishioners to say service and sing Psalms in prose and meeter with them in the Church.  
38. Whether they say the common prayers, read their Psalms and Chapters, and other prayers, so audibly plainly and distinctly, in convenient time, and at such a place, as all the people may well hear, and understand the sense thereof to their edifying.  
39 Whether they use after morning and evening prayer said, to bestow themselves in godly meditation of good learning, and instructing of youth.  
40. Whether they use the exhortation set forth in the administration of the Lords Supper, thereby to stir up their parishioners to the oftener receiving of the same.  
41. Whether they have admitted any notorious offender or malicious person, or any notoriously known to be out of charity, or that hath done any open wrong to his neighbour either by word or by deed, to the holy Communion, without open acknowledging of their fault and reconciliation.  
42. Whether there be any in your parish, that readeth any private Lectures in the same, or useth exposition of scriptures in any private man's house whatsoever, or that preacheth any Doctrine of innovation, to withdraw the people from their due obedience: and whether any Preacheth, and doth not at certain times in the year, minister the Sacraments, and say service according to order. Also whether any new presbytery or consistory of Elders be in the parish erected, or any private Conventicle of those whose ears ich with singularities, and impertinent matters, in the which schismatical Ministers be admitted to deal in the Ecclesiastical function and such as despise rulers & speak evil of them that are in authority, or whether any of your parish contribute to such schismatical dealings and conventicles.  
43. Whether doth your minister or any other, use any solemn Feasts or public exercise, upon any day not appointed by public authority: and who were at the said feast or exercise.  
44. Item, whether doth your Parson, Vicar, or Curate or any other, preach, expound, interpret, exercise or catechize, in any private meetings or conventicles within your parish where are the same held, and who resort thereto.  
45. Whether doth your Parson, Vicar, & Curate, at their Sermons, Lectures, or exercises, pronounce all that form of prayer for her Majesty and the whole Realm, set forth in the end of the queens Injunctions.  
46. Whether doth your Minister bid all such holidays and fasting days, as are appointed by the book of common prayer, and say service upon the same holidays, and upon every Wednesday and Friday: and doth any of your parishioners work upon any of the said holidays.  
47. Whether your Parson, Vicar, or Curate, do Preach, expound the Scriptures in his own cure, or in any other place, not being licensed so to do by the Ordinary.  
48. Whether any Curate or Minister be suffered to serve in the Church, before he be examined and admitted by the ordinary in writing under the seal of his office, and before he show his licence unto the Churchwardens.  
49. Whether the Register of all weddings, burials, and christenings within your parish, be well kept, and a copy of them once every year, within one month after Easter, transmitted to the register, and whether the queens majesties Injunctions be quarterly read.  
50. Whether yearly in the Rogation week, for the better knowing and retaining of the circuit of your parish, & for the obtaining of gods blessing upon the fruits of the ground, the Parson, Vicar, or Curate, the Churchwardens and certain other of the substantial of the parish, with other of the younger sort, walk the accustomed bounds of the parish, saying or singing in English the hundred and third, the hundred and fourth psalms, the Litany with an homily devised for that purpose, and other devout prayers.   

Beehaviour of Ministers.  
51. Whether your Parson or Vicar be resident upon his benefice, and keep hospitality according to his ability.  
52. Whether they keep their mansion houses and chancels in good sufficient reparations.  
53. Whether they keep in their houses any persons, men or women suspected of evil life, or of evil religion.  
54. Whether your Minister or Curate be suspected of any notorious crime, as of filthy lucre, covetousness, adultery, blasphemy, perjury, drunkenness, idleness, filthy and vain talk, or else is slanderous in any part of his conversation, thorough brawling, fight, quarrel picking, & peace breaking.  
55. Whether they haunt alehouses, taverns, Inns, or any suspected place, or use any unlawful gaming, as dancing, carding, dicing, hawking and hunting.  
56. Whether your Minister and Curate do use at home and abroad such apparel as public order appointeth to be decent for them to wear, and that their wives, children and families, be apparelled handsomely without vanity, and great charges fit for the calling of their husbands, and do use the Surples at the time of common prayer.  
57 Whether your Parson or Vicar hath at any time since the thirteenth year of the queens majesties reign, made any manner of lease or grant of his Parsonage or Vicarage, or any part thereof, he being absent and not risident upon the same, to any other then to his Curate that did or doth serve his cure in his absence.   

Schools.  
58. Whether the Schoolmasters & Teachers within your parish, be examined, allowed or licenced by the Ordinary under his seal, whether they teach the Grammar set forth by King Henry the eight, and no other: whether they teach any thing contrary or repugnant to the order, Doctrine, and ceremonies of this church of England by public authority established, and whether they teach the Catechism in Latin, set forth Anno. 1570. and allowed, and such other Godly learning, as may induce them to godliness, true religion and good conversation.  
59 Whether they do encourage the youth committed to their charge, to the love of true religion, and godliness, causing them daily, coming and departing from the school, to pray unto God for increase of learning & godly life, and also teaching them such sentences of the holy scriptures, as may frame them to fear God & live virtuously, and also causing them to say grace in English before meat & after, and to give thanks to God for all his benefits that they at any time receive of his mercy, and not of their deserts.  
60 Whether your Schoolmasters be negligent in teaching, or else be common officers, farmers, artificers, or otherwise entangled in other affairs, that they cannot benefit their scholars in learning, and what schoolmasters be in any private house.  
61 Whether aswell the Schoolmaster as the scholars do come to school and leave it in due time and hours.   

Hospitals.  
62 Whether your Hospitals, spitals, and Alms houses, be well repaired and godly used, according to the foundation & ancient ordinances of the same, and whether there be any other placed in them, then poor impotent and needy persons, that have not wherewith or whereby to live.   

Churchwardens.  
63 Whether your Churchwardens be chosen yearly one by the parish or the mayor part thereof, and the other by the Minister, upon the day accustomed.  
64 Whether at any time heretofore, the Churchwardens, or the Minister, or the parishioners, or any of them to your knowledge, or as you have heard, have withheld or detained in their custody, or have sold, wasted, spent, or otherwise alienated any of the Church goods or stock.  
65 Whether the Churchwardens yearly in writing, make their accounts to the parish, as well of all receipts as of their necessary expenses.  
66 Whether they do levy for not coming to the Church to hear divine service upon sundays & holidays, xii. pence, for every person absent without lawful cause, or present every such person.  
67 Whether they do waste or spoil any part of the church goods & whether they call for all manner of legaces given to the poor of the parish, to the reparations of the Church, and such other good uses, & whether they call for the money due to be paid for those that are buried in the Church.  
68 Whether the Minister of the Church & the Churchwardens, do certify in writing under their hands and seals to the Ordinary at least wise 14. days before the Assizes or quarter Sessions, throughout all the whole year, all such persons as be absent from hearing divine and public service in the Church, the space of a month together at any time, that the same certificate may be delivered to the justices, and the offenders therein indicted according to a statute, what lands tenements, anuities, or goods or chattels are belonging to any use about the Church and in whose hands the evidences thereof remain.   

Midwives  
69 Whether your Midwives be honest, sober, and skilful, void of superstition, drunkenness, & unseemly behaviour.   

Of the Parishioners.  
70 Whether the Parishioners and every of them do come daily upon the sundays and holidays to church, or kept open his shop, or done any work upon any such day, or used at any time to brawl or fight in the Church or Churchyard, or use May-games, Lords of Misrule, dancing, on the Sabaoth day, or holy day in time of divine service.  
71 Whether any that keepeth an Alehouse, Tavern, or Inn or any other, suffereth any to dance or play at any unlawful game, or uttereth any meat or drink, in time of divine service, either of Sunday or holiday.  
72 Whether there be any within your parish, or near about you within this Diocese, suspected or known to tell fortunes, to help men to things lost, use charms, witchcraft, sorceries, soothsay, prophesying, or any such other superstitious and devilish illusion: whether any within your parish have committed adultery, fornication, or incest, or be a common drunkard, or a common swearer, or an unlawful usurer, above ten in the hundredth, or is suspected of any of the premises.  
73. Whether any within your parish do entertain or keep in his house, or other place, any woman suspected to be of lewd life, or any woman with child, and after her delivery shall suffer her to departed, before she have done penance, and how many such have you known or heard of.  
74. Whether the people upon any occasion do eat or drink in the church, or any excommunicate person hath intruded himself into the church at the time of common prayer, and who doth keep company with any excommunicate person, knowing him so to be.  
75. Whether every householder, their wives, children and servants, do use to make prayers unto God every morning, before they go to their work, and every evening before they go to bed.  
76. Whether they, their Children and servants, behave themselves reverently in time of common prayer, preaching, or ministering of the Sacraments, without walking, talking, sleeping, or disturbing the congregation.  
77. Whether every Parishioner have framed himself to receive oft the holy Communion, and hath received at least thrice the Communion this year, according to the duty of a Christian man, and namely at Easter last, or receiving have not signified the same to the Minister, or have not come to the Minister to be examined and to be better instructed touching his duty towards God and man.  
78 Whether any man woman or child, use to occupy himself otherwise in the Church in the time of divine service, then in praying and in marking attentively, that which is read or preached by the Minister.  
79. Whether there be any in the parish that presume to execute or to minister the goods of those that be departed out of this world, without an administration or probate of testament, or have falsified, or suppressed the will of any person, or any executors that have not fulfilled the testators will, & hath not lawfully proved the same will before the Ordinary.  
80. Whether any child being borne since the thirtéeneth year of the queens majesties reign, hath not been brought to be baptised at his parish church.  
81. Whether any mis●iuer or doer, hath had his penance or any part thereof omitted, without consent of the Bishop himself first had.   

Patrons of Benefices.  
82. Whether your Parson or Vicar, or any other for him, hath for or in respect of any sum of money, reward, gift, profit or benefit directly or indirectly, or for or by reason of any promise, agreement, grant, bond, covenant, or other, assurance, of or for any sum of money, reward, gift, profit, or benefit what so ever, directly or indirectly, procured or obtained the gift or presentation of his benefice.  
83. Whether you know any Patron or any Aduousoner in your parish, that hath made a gain by any colour, deceit, or simoniacal pack, in bestowing his benefice, or by receiving money, or promise of the lease of the whole, or of part, or by reserving his own tithes, or any pension to himself, his child, servant or friend.  
84. Whether doth your Parson or Vicar, let out, or suffer any to enjoy his benefice, or any part thereof, or give any pension out of the same, or suffer any man to hold or enjoy his own tithes, or to enjoy any of the gléebe land.  
And you shall make and bring in your presentments touching all the Articles above mentioned, within four-teene days after the feast of Easter, Saint john the Baptist, S. Michael the Archangel, and the nativity of our Lord.   
FINIS.