BY THE KING 
A Proclamation against the Opression of the Clergy by the Intrusion of Factious and schismatical Persons into their Cures, and inverting and detaining their Tithes, and possessions by Orders of one or both Houses of Parliament, contrary to all Law and Justice.  
WHEREAS by the Great Charter of the Liberties of England it is provided, that the Church should have all its Rights whole, and the Liberties inviolable and amongst others the Church hath these privileges, That regularly no ecclesiastical Possessions may be extended, seized or sequestered but by the Ordinary, And that Distresses may not be taken of Lands wherewith Churches have been anciently envowed; And that Churches presentative cannot be filled, and the Lawful Incumbents; hereof removed but by the Ordinary, nor the Cure of the Incumbents served by Curates, Lecturers or others, but by their own appointment, or in their default by the appointment of the Ordinary; neither are any of Our Subjects of the Laity by the Common-Lawes of Our realm capable to take or receive Tithes (which are the portion of the Clergy) unless by demisse from them, or such as are appropriate and made Lay-Fee: nevertheless by colour of Orders or pretended Ordinances of one or both Houses of Parliament, the Estates real and personal as well of Our Clergy as La●ty have been and are daily seized, sequestered and taken from them, and their Possessions d●strayned for illegal Taxes and Contributions for supporting the Rebellion against us; Which being clearly against Law and unwarrantable, We did forbid by Our Proclamation of the seventh of April last, and do hereby forbid the same, under the penalties in that Our Proclamation contained. And whereas divers of Our Clergy Eminent for their Piety and Learning, because they publish Our lawful and just Commands and Declarations, and will not, against the known laws of the Land and their own Consciences, submit to Contributions, nor publicly pray against us and Our Assistants, but conform themselves to the Book of commonprayer established by Law, and Preach God's Word according to the Purity thereof, and in their Sermons will not teach Sedition, nor will publish illegal Commands and Orders for fomenting the unnatural war Levied against us, are some of them driven and forced from their Cures and Habitations, some others Silenced and discharged from the Exercise of their Cures, and Persecuted and their Curates, if Orthodox, displaced, and others who are Factious and schismatical intruded and put in, to sow Sedition and seduce Our good Subjects from their Obedience, expressly contrary to the Word of God, and the laws of the Land, and the Giebs, Tithes, and other Emoluments of Right belonging to such Incumbents as will not conform to that Faction, are diverted in all Parishes where such Arbitrary power prevails, and distributed, part to such Factious Curates, and the test to the maintenance of this war, against Law and the Liberties of the Church; Our Will and Pleasure therefore is, and We do hereby straightly charge and command all Our Subjects as well ecclesiastical as temporal, not to presume to intermeddle in discharging or hindering any of Our said Clergy for the cause aforesaid, or any other the like pretences, or any of them from the exercise of their Cures and Functions, or in displacing the said Curates substituted by them, nor do presume to intrude or cause any Curates, Lecturers or others, to be intruded or put into fuch Curates substituted by them, delete the records or to take or dispose the Globe; Tithes, Fruits, or Emoluments belonging to any of our said Clergy, Who are so silenced, forced from their Cures, and persecuted as aforesaid, And we do hereby require and command all Our Subjects duly to set forth and pay their Tithes to their several and respective lawful Incumbents of their Parishes or to their farmers assigns, or Deputies, without any guile or fraud; and so as the same may be received and enjoyed by the same Incumbents, without any diminution, substraction or diversion, notwithstanding any sequestration or pretend Orders or Ordinaces, or other command whatsoever of one or both Houses of Parliament. And if any Person or Persons whatsoever shall presume to transgress this Our Command, We do hereby Declare and Signify, That they do not only oppugue and infringe the good old laws of the Land and the Liberties of the Church (which all Our Subjects, as well as ourself, are bound to maintain and observe) but do also assist a Rebellion against us, for which We shall proceed against them according Law, as they shallbe apprehended and brought to the Hands of justice and will give direction for taking their Lands and Goods into safe Custody in the mean time.  
And We do hereby farther straightly command and require all churchwardens, Sides-men and Patishiones whatsoever, to resist all such Persons as shall be so intruded or put into any of the Cures aforesaid by, or upon pretence of any such pretence of any such pretended Orders or Ordinances or commands as aforesaid, and to assist (as much as in them lieth) the lawful Ancumbents, their Curates, farmers, assigns or Deputies, in the receiving taking and enjoying the Glebe, Tithes, fruits Emoluments to them of right belonging, Willing & commanding all sheriffs, Majors, bailiffs, justices & Peace, Constables, Head-boroughs & other Our Officers & loving Subjects what's; oever, upon their Allegianc, & the severest punishment that by the Law may be unflicted upon them, not only to obey & observe carfuly these Our commands, but to be aiding and assisting to the utmost of their power to all such Persons as shall requirs their assistance and Protetection in this behalf, and to resist and repel, by force of arms, all such as shall oppose this Our legal command. And Our Will and pleasure is, That this Our Proclamation be read in all Churches and chapels in this Our kingdom.  
Given at Our Court at Oxford, the Fifteenth day of May, in the nineteenth year of Our reign. May. 27. 1643 
 GOD Save the KING.   

Printed at Oxford by LEONARD LICHFIELD Printed to the university. 1643.