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A SHORT HISTORY

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

CHAS. E. WHITCOMBE.

HAMILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

NOV 2 1 1979

COPY^

TORONTO:
IIOWSELL & HUTCHISON.

1886.

RowsELL & Hi'TCaiaoN, Pkintkrs, Toromto

PREFACE.

The object of the author has been to present in as
•succinct a form as possible, the leading events of the
history of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of Great
Britain.

He hopes that this little work may be found useful
in our schools, and helpful to busy men who have not
time to study fuller Church histories.

C. E. W.

A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY.

The Gospel was brouglit to Great Britain from the
East, at a time when tlie Ro^jian Enipire held Great
Britain by force of arms, j

For a period of nearly one thousand years, the British
Church was independent of any authority of the Church
of Rome.

Ireland and Scotland owe their Christianity to the
labors of British Missionaries.

When the Roman armies were withdrawn from
Britain, to defend Italy from the Goths and Vandals,
the Picts and Scots,'from the North of Great Britain,
attacked the Britons.

The Saxons being invited to come over from the
continent, drove back the Northern invaders, but them-
selves took possession of the country.

The British Church was driven into Wales, and
Cornwall, and Cumberland; and many Christians
ci-ossed to Ireland.

The Saxons, heat! en worshippers of Woden and
Thor, were, in course of time, converted to the Christian
faith. This was due almost entirely to the labors of

VI.

A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY.

the Missionaries who came from the British reli<rioiis
liousos of Irelaml and Scotland.

When William of Normandy seized the throne of
England he introduced Norman manners and customs.

The Norman Kings, dispossessed the Church of her
Englisli Bishops, and put in their places foi oigners who
were in subjection to the Roman See.

Thus tlie Pope of Rome came to have great power
over the Church of England.

The history of the period between the Norman Con-
quest and the Reformation is the history of a continuous
struggle, wlierein the Church of England strove to
shake off the usurped supremacy of the Bishop of Rome.
In this struggle she was sometimes aided, but more
often hindered by the Crown. She was constantly
pillaged by the Crown or by the Pope.

She never entirely lest her independence, and was at
each and every period just what she is now — the
Church of England.

At the Reformation she was enabled by the historical
providences of the times, to accomplish that for which
she had so long struggled.

She succeeded in casting off the usurpation of the
Bishop of Rome, and became again what she had been
in the first thousand years of her life, independently
governed by her own Bishops.

During the short reign of Queen Mary the Church of

A VEllY UUIEF : JMMARY.

VII.

Enj^land was again subjected to Papal suj)reiiiacy, but
in Elizabeth's reign she threw otl" the foreign yoke,
never again to bow beneath it.

During the great rebellion which culminated in the
murder of King Charles I., the Presbyterian and the
Independent religious factions, sought to stamp out the
Church of England as they had destroyed the Crown.

But this could not be. After a short tenure of office,
the Sectarians were overthrown, and the Church and
the Crown welcomed back by the whole country.

The disafi'ected who still clung to the Pope, became
the first disvsenters from the Church of England under
the name of Romanists oi Papists. Those who still
adhered to Presbyterianism, Independency, or any of
the many forms of nonconformity, were thenceforth
known under the general name of " Dissenters."

The latest dissent from the Church of England was

caused by the departure of the Methodist Societies

which John Wesley had established as "guilds" within

the Church for the spiritual revival of an indifferent

age.

Carefully remembtring that the Church of England
is many centuries older than the State of England ;
that she was not created nor established by any Act of
Parliament or Statute ; that her endowments have all
been the gifts of private individuals ; that she was never
anything else before the period of Papal ascendancy.

Vlll.

A VERY lUUKF SUMMAIIY.

(luring that period, nor since tlie Reformation, than the
Church of* England, we sluill unih'rstand wlwit her
AVon(h"()us liistory teaclu's, viz.: The continuity of tlie
Churcli of England, as the Catholic and Apostolic
Cluircli of Christ, which has always been and now i»
within the realms of Orcat Britain, an<l am()n<»st the
English speaking peoj)les of tlie worhl.

e
)r

le
ic
is

CHAITKR I.

THK i!i;iTisii curiicH i)iKiN(; 'I'lii: ijoman
oicui'ATioN OF (;i:i:.\r uiutain.

(li.C. 44 A.I>. 410.)

(^hristiiiiiity f.irly fiiiUraced by tlio Mritoiis The (iospi-l cuuu- from
till- Must ti> •Jri;it l»iit:iiii When Ivoiiiaii Jiniis wltc in jxissos-
siou of (lifiit Ihitiiiii iiiul itciHccutiou of the ('lunch was pt-iiodica
— The hc'st known Mritish Martyr wah S. All)an -Konian perseon-
lion t'n<lu<l Tlic I'.iitish Church at Asiatic ami Kuropcan Cunncils
of Ailcs, Nicn'a, Sanlica, Kiniini -( ►thcr witneases to the history
of the l'>iitish ( 'hiirth^The Mritish Ciiurch intlepeinU-nt of tlie
Church of Konie- 'I'lie iSritish (Miurcli preaches in Irelanil and
in Seothmtl— S. Patrick.

Christianity early embraced by the Britons — Biitaiii
eailv trill Jiaced the Fuitli of Clii'ist. WIhmi (Jrcat
Britain was a laiul of dense foivst and nndraincd
swamps, ( 'luistian nnssionaries punetrated her woods,
and pa.ssed up liur rivers.

Parts, inaceessil»le to Roman arms, were subdued l»y
soldiers of the cross. At this distar' f tnae we can-
not he siii-e as to the exact date of the first a[ti)earance
of Christianity in (ireat Britain.

Le<,a'nds attribute the introduction of the (ilosi)el in
Great Britain to S. Paul, S. Philij), S. James, S. ^imon
Zelotes, S. Peter, Ari.stohulus, and others. We cannot
say who first proclaimed Chiist to the Britons.

The south west portion of the island, that is, Corn-
wall and ; djacent counties, was the tirst to receive
Cliristianity.

Christianity ame from the Easi to Great Britain- — The
south w .'st of Tie island ad lonij had tradin<; relations

•i

THE lUUTISFI CHIKCH.

with Asia Mild Syi-ia, via.. Marseilles, and tho soiitlicrn
p(j]ts of France ((.Jaiil). The iirst Cliristiaii Chincli in
Biitain was of an Eastern or Asiatie rather than of
the Western or European type.

The Roman Armies in possession of Britain. — For the
short ])ejMod durinL;* wliich the Roman soldiers were
encamped or settled in various parts of Bi'itaiii.
they iiiijiarted to the Britons man}' of the ai'ts of
civilization.

68 The martyrdoms of S. Peter and S. Paul
A.i). occurred in the reign of Nero, about OS A. I).

Every succeedin<^r ])(^riod saw persecution falling
upon the devoted Christians throughout the vast Iioiiian
empire. In the reign.s of* Trajan, Aurelius, Antoninus,
Severus, J)ecius, Valerian, Diocletian, and Maximian
p(!rsecutions of the Chri.stians bi'oke out from time to
time in wholesale slauo-hterino-s and fiendish torturer.

Persecution of the Church was periodical.— T^p to
the year 310 A. D., persecution of th" Chi'istirii
Cliureh had generally been tlie policy of the
Emperors of Rome.

310

A.L>.

303

A.l).

The best known Martyr was S. Alban. — In the
Diocletian persecution, Albanus, an inhabitant of
the Roman town Verulam in Hertfordshire, since
named Saint Albans, was cruelly piit to death. This
Martyr was a Roman soldier. He sheltered a Christian
priest who was Heoing from the heathen persecutors.
From his guest Albanus learned the stor}' of the Cross
of Christ, was in.structed in the Christian Faith and
baptized. His instructor h<^\ng discovered and de-
manded by the Roman soldiery, AlVianus presented
liimself, disgui.sed in the priest's i;arments, to tlie
fury of the pursuers, and was thereupon dragged
before the Roman Governor. Beino- recoijnizeil, he
boldly avowed liimself a Christian. He was ordered

•r-Ii>

KOMAN OCCUPATION OF fJIlKAT JUUTAIN.

nee

lis

Jl'S.
■OSS

ind
le-
teil
tlio
fed
bo
red

to al)jm(' liis faitli, and sacrifice to the lieathen gods.
He refus«(l. Torture failed to shake his constancy and
he was Ix'lieaded, To the memory of this early Chris-
tian martyr, a stately ahbey was shortly' afterwards
erected, and the Church of S. All tan still stands a noble
monument of the early Christianity of old Kngland.

310

A. I).

The Heathen Persecution ended. — In the reign of
Constantino, Emperor of Rome, A.l). -SIO, who
end)raced tiie Christian faith, i)ersecution ceased,
and the British Church obtaineil a ]>r()minent place
auKjng the Christians of the European world.

The British Church represented in Asiatic and
314 European Councils - At the Council of Aries. — Iq

'^'"' A.l). .'U4 a great council of Bishops was held at

Aries in France, to consider the .schism of the Donatists.

The Donatists were named from Donatns, who led a

schism in Carthage, wdiich, from the year .SI 2 for more

than a ccntuiy, distracted the African Church with the

contending clainis of rival successions of Bishops, and

led to civil war and nuich bloodshed. Among the

many Bish(>ps present at this council from all parts of

the Church, we tind the names of three from the British

Church — Eboriu.;, Bishop of York ; Restitutus, Bishop

of London ; and Adeltius, Bishop of Caerleon. At the

same council tbei'e were also present from Britain,

Sacerdos, a ]>resbyter, and Arminius, a deacon. The

preseiice of tbeso i-epre.sentativt.'s at a genei'al council

shews that the Biitish Church was fully recognized as

an integral portion of the Holy Catholic Church at this

early date.

At the Council of Nicoea. — Again, in A.D. 825, at

^^^ the o-roat Council of Niccva, which fjave to the

Catholic Chui'ch the Expression of Faith known

as the Nicene C^reed, the British Church was probably

represented by its Bishops.

THK BRITISH CHURCH.

At the Council of Sardica. — Again, in A.D. .'i47,
J^J Bi'itisli Bishops signified, in the Council of Sar-
dica, their approval of the ac(|irttnl of S. Athan-
asius from charges brought against liini ])y the Arians.

359

A. 1>.

At the Council of Eimini- — Auain at the Council
of Rimini, A.D. 359, a large number of Biitish
representatives were present.

Other Witnesses tc the History of the British Church.-—

8. Clirysostom, named the golden tongue from his
367 eloquence, speaks in 8G7 A.D., of the Churches and
Ai'- altars of the Christians in Britain. Justin Maityr,
114 born A.D., 114, and Irena'us, born A.D. UO.Tcrtul-
'^■"" lian, born about 181 A.D., and many other eminent
^^" Roman writers bear witness to the altars, doctrine,
jg, and discipline of the British Church, duiing the
A.i>. first three centuries of the Christian era.

The British Church independent of the Church of Rome.
— Duriiiix all these centuries there is no shadow of
pretence in history that the British Church o\ved or
acknowledged any dependenco on the Church of Rome.
*' No legates from Rome, but devout men from Asia,
established Christian discipline among the ancient
Britons. — Moslte im.

The British Church preaches in Ireland — During the
century .SOO A.D. to 400 a.d., the British Church not
only flourished at home but sent her missionaries for
the conversion of Ireland.

S. Patrick. — Patrick was born in Scotland probal)ly
at the place called Kirkpatrick about .*J87 a.d., his

387 father was a priest, and his grandfather a deacon.

Ai>. Thus there were married cleroy in the Church in
the fourth century. When Patrick was sixteen years
old a band of marauders from Ireland seized the boy,
and cari'ied him away to slavery into that part now
called Antrim. After seven years capti\'ity he escaped

ROMAN OCCUPATION OF GREAT BRITAIN.

the

not

for

eon.
I in
ars

liow
peel

and readied home. Tlience he went to the south of
France, and was echicated for Holy Orders. He was
ordained Deacon and Priest.

432 Palladius wlio had heen sent to ev^angelize the

Ai>. Irisli, havinir failed in his mission, returned to

En«dand 4'i2 A.l). S. Patrick beirif^ consecrated Bishop

in Ganl (France) sailed with twelve companions to

Ireland. There he was very successful in eon-

^ j^ vertini^^ the Irish people, and died about the year

465 A.D.

The British Church Preached in Scotland. — From the

monasteries and schools of learnincj founded by S,

563 Patrick in Ireland, missionaries, as S. Colombo,

A.D. .■')G3 A.l). went to Scotland, and finding many

Chi'istians converted by a British Missionary from

North Wales S. Ninias 412 A.D. to 482 A.D.,

to established the religious house of Icma on the

432 west coast in Argyleshire. So we find that Ireland

^- ^*- and Scotland received the Gospel from the British

Churcli, and afterwards the Christian Schools founded

bv SS. Patrick, Colombo, and Ninias, had a lar<xe share

not only in converting the heathens of Northern France

and the Germans, but also in reconverting England,

when it had lapsed under the Saxon heathen invaders.

DATES.

A.D.

First Christians in Britain, about 65

Witnesses to the British Church :

Justin Martyr . 114

Ircuieus 140

Tertullian 181

S. Alban the Martyr 303

Roman persecution ended 310

<Jonncils — Aries 314

Nicfi'a 325

Savdica 347

Rimini 359

S. C'hrysostom 367

S. Patrick 387

Conversion of Scothmd ... 412

Conversion of Ireland , . 432

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

CHAPTER 11.

THE BRITISH CHURCH IN THE SAXUX PKRlUl).

: ti!

(410 A.D.— 827 A.b— 417 years.)

Roman armies leave Britain — Invasion l)y Picts and Scots — Th&
Angles and Saxons— British Church driven into the west —The
Heptarcliy — Kent and East Saxons converted —S. Augustine —
Mercia and Northuni1)ria converted — East Anglos and West-
Saxons converted — Wliole Heptarchy I)eeanie converted.

SAXON PERIOD OF BRITISH HISTORY.
Whilst Ireland and Scotland were bting converted.

The Roman Armies had left Britain, b< inj]^ recalled by
410 Emperor Honorius in 410 a.d., to save the City
A.i>. of Rome from the invasion of the Northern tribes
of Europe — the Goths and Vandals.

WIkp the Romans had ffone, one Island was oovcrnod
by the cleroy, nobles, and municipal towns. There
were thirty-three chief towns, and thirty-three bishops
who met regularly in Synod. The departure of 20,000
Roman soldiers left the Island helpless, and the Picts
and Scots from the North invaded that part of Great
Britain now known as England.

The Angles and Saxons, heathen tribes from the
neiirhbourhood of the Elbe, in Germanv, w^ere called in
by the British to help them against their northern
enemies. This w\as a fatal step for the British Church.
The heathen allies soon turned upon the British, drove
them into the west, and seized their lands.

THE SAXON PERIOD.

Des

The British Church found refuj,^^ in that part of
England wliicli lies Itrtwccn the Clyde and the Dee,
and in Wales, and the counties now known as Cornwall
and Somerset,

In tliese districts the British Church j)i('served the
Faith, and sent fortli the Missionaries to Ireliuid and
Scotland, of whom we have spoken, and aftei-wards
reconverted the rest of England, which now relapsed.
under Saxon rule, into the worship of Thor and Woden,
the gods of the Teutons.

It is easy to see liow the Saxons and British (Celts)
liated one another witli all th.e fury engendered I)}'
continuous wais. The Saxons would never listen to
the gospel from the con([uered and des2)ised Britons,
who dwelt in the western mountains.

The Heptarchy, 410—827—417 years, or Seven

*^^^ Kingdoms, was estahlished by the Saxons. These

827 kingdoms were formed l)y the tbllowings of separ-

A !>• ate and independent chieftains, and were only

hehl togetlier by a connnon fear of the Biitish in the

Avest. The kingdoms were : Essex, Wi':sskx, and

Sl'ssEX (Saxons), comprisiiif^ present Sunvy, Sussex,

Middlesex, and the counties south of the Thames ;

NoRTHr.MUHiA, all north of the Hundjer ; East An(}Ma,

Norfolk, Sutiblk, and Cand»ridge ; Meiu'JA, the midland

counties, east of the Sevein, north of the Thames, and

south of the Hundjcr.

CONVERSION OF THE HEPTARCHY.

die

After the Heptarctiy had remained heathen for 100
years.

Kent and East Saxons converted to Christianity —
597 Ethelbert. in 597 a.d., was Bretwalda, or leading

^'^^' prince of all the Heptarchy, and was King of

Kelit. He liad married Bertha, the Christian (laughter

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

of ( 'hjyil)oi-t, Kin<^ of tht' Franks (France), wlioso royal
city was Paris. The Quoen liad been allowccl tlie
oxcrciso of her roli<;ion, and tlio attendance of her
cliaph'iin Lnidliart, Bisliop of Senlis. Tlui inthience of
Bcrtlia prepared tlie way for tlie mission of S. AnL,nis-
tine, who was sent to Great BrHain hv CJreiroi-v the
Oieat, Bishop of Rome.

Fair liaired Saxon slave boys, white skinned with
flowing hair, were standinn; in the market ])lace at

onie expose(
^trnck by tli

(1 f

<ale.

Gregory was passing l>y

of the lads, h

d fr.

.strucK hy tlie appearance or tne lads, ne nicpnred rroiii
what country they came. Findin<j: that tliey had been
brought from Enghmd, and that they were pagans, he
sighed and said : " Alas ! what a pity that the author
of darkness possesses men of such fair countenances.
But of what nation are they?" ''Angles." "They
have," said he, "' angelic faces, and should be co-heirs of
the angels in lieaven. From what province ? " " Fi'om
Deira," (one of the two kingdoms of Northumbi-ia).
" liet them l>e rescued from the anger {*Ie J ni) of God,
and called to the mercy of Christ. The name of their
king ? " " .^.lla." " So be it," said Gregory, " Alleluia,
the praise of the Creator be sung in those parts."
Gregory made a vow to rescue these 'oright and beau-
teous people from paganism. He Set out in person to
preach the Gospel to the Saxon worshippers of Thor
and Woden, but, before he reached the coast, he was
recalled to become Bishop of Rome. Failing himself
to reach the Saxons in England, he equipped a band of
forty Missionaries under Augustine, and sent them
forth to preach the Gospel in the Heptarchy.

Augustine and his company set out, and being recom-
mended on the way to the Bishops of Lyons, Marseilles,
597 Aix, Aries, Vienne, Orleans, Metz, Saintes, and
A.i>. Tours, arrived in Kent in the spring of 597 A.D

S. Augustine was well received by Ethel bert, who

1 »

THE SAXON PKHIOD.

V
4

in a sliort time was bnptizt'd, and a jijrcat nuiiiber of
liis sulijccts onil)iaced Cliiistiaiiitv. In Novenil>er, of
the same vear, S. Augustine was ordained I'lislion at
the ]ian<ls of /Etberius Bishop of Lyons and VerL;i]inH
Bisliop of Aries (France), and on C'ln'istmas day
1 (),()()() Saxons Mere baptized. S. Ano'nstine l)eeanio
AhciiiusiioI' of CANTEinu:itY, and the Pope nnch'rtook
to commit to liim tlie supervision of the Clnireli in
Gr(Mit Britain. At t]w same time no exact uniformity
witli th(^ uses of tlie Chui'ch in Rome was imposed.
The ohje'ctionahle part of this transaction was. tlie
subjection of the British Bishops to the ruh' of the
new Archbishop, who, as their junior, avmld l\avo
no chiini to government, except by their consent.
Altoi:;ether tlie wise and politic advice of Bisho]>
OreiiOi V to 8. Aui^ustinc as to his dealimjfs with the
existiui^^ British Church secured the rapid spr<'a<l of
Christianity anionj,' the Saxons and AuL^les.

S. Paul's, London, and Westminster Abbey. — Tn
^ j^ the year G04 A.D., two famous tem})les dedicated
to the heathen deities, Diana and Apoilos, were
consecrated to Christian uses, and became the founda-
tions of the Cathedral Church of S. Paul, London, and
of S. Peter's Church, now known as Westminster
Abbey.

Bishop of London. — Tn the same year JMelitus w^as set
apart by S. Augustine as Bishop of London and a
Bishop of Rochester was found in the person of Justus.

S. Augustine died in 614 A.D., and was buried
j^^ near the Church of S. Peter and S. Paul, Canter-
bury. Before his death he had consecrated as
second Archbishop of Canterbury, Laurentius. Upon
the tomb of this great and good man is inscribed :
"Here rests the lord Augustine, first Archbishop of
Canterbury, who being formerly sent here by the blessed
Gregory, Bishop of the city of Rome, and by God's
2

]()

THE HHITrSH C'HUUCH.

I ,

assistance supported with miracles, reduced Kini^
Etliclbert and liis njition fron tlie worship of idols to
the faith of Christ, and having ended tlie days of Ins
otHce in peace, died the 7th day of the kalends of
June, in the rei<>n of the same Kini;."

616 Etht^lbert died in GIG A.D., and Sehert, King of
A.i>. the East Saxons, a pagan, became Bretwalda.

The East Saxons relapsed into Heathenism, i\m\ sore
tiouble fell upon the Cliurch. Melitus and Justus were

3lle(l,an<l Hed to F

,butL}

I tins, the P

ite

expelled, an<l ned to p ranee, out ijaurentius, the nimal
remaine<l in his See. The third Archbishop of Canter-
bury was Melitus, who, on his recall to England, was
translated from the See of London to the Primacy.

The East Saxons were re-converted l)y Paulinus, a
priest from Kent, who converted the King Eadwin,
and received him, all his nobility, and a large number
of his subjects, and baptized them on Easter Eve in a
little wooden church, the first germ of the now glorious
pile of York .vlinster. Paulinus became first Arch-
bishop of York.

630 The Church was planted in Mercia and Northumbria

A.i>. by Paulinus in G30 A.D.
The fourth Archbishop of Canterbury was Justus,
and the fifth Archbishop of Canterbury was Jlonorius,
wdio was consecrated in the stone church now developed
into Lincoln Cathedral.

The Church in Northumbria and Mercia was overthrown
633 wlien King Eadwin, being killed at the battle of
A.r>. Hatfield, G*38 A.D., his army was dispersed by the
heathen King of the Western Saxons.

Northumbria and Mercia were re-converted by mission-
aries of the ancient British Church who came from
the religious houses planted by S. Patrick and his
successors in Ireland and Scotland. (See back pagt

%
^

THE SAXON PEUIOn.

635

A.I).

il) Tlio eliiof missionary w.as S. Aidan. Thus did
the Saxons of the North of En<dand fiiuallv owe tlieir
C'hri.stianity, not to Home, but to tlie missionaries of the
early British Church.

The East Angles, (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cand.ri.lge)
632 VVEKE coNVEHTKl) in (j»S2 A.I)., when Korpwald
^ '»• their Kin;^* was ba])tized. His second successor
founded tlie see of Dunwich, aftervvard;s Norfolk.

West Saxons, (all coU!ities west of Sussex and soutli
of The Thames, Cornwall excepted) was convkhtki)
last of all the seven kingdoms. The (Josjx-l was
preached heie hy Birenus a missionary fioni Rome,
acting under the license of the Archbishop of
(Canterbury, and the King, and many of his
subjects were baptized GJJo A.I)., and Birenus
became Bishop of J)orchester.

The whole Heptarchy became Christian by the se\enth
century.

C'hristianity was not, however, yet so tirndy estab-
lishiid, but that in various portions of the countr}'
thei'e were relapses into heathenism.

627 Mercia relapsed in G27 A.ix, and remained
A'». heathen twenty-five years until under KingPenda
652 ()52 A.i)., the kingdom was ue-convertkd by the
A.i>- British Church missionaries Finan, Cedda, Adda,
Betti and Diuma.

654 East Saxons relapsed, and wx're re- con verted by
Ai»- Cedda Co 4 A. D.

Summary of the Conversion of the Saxons- — Thus the
Church was not established in any of the Kingdoms
of Saxon England by Roman Missionaries, except only
in the Kingdom of Kent.

1. Northumbria. though partly converted by the

THK IMIITISII CMLrilCH.

1 I

RoiiKiTi Missionary, Paulimis, owed its coinplc^te con-
version to S. Finan and S. Aidan, who came from tlio
I'rliijfions lioiis(i founded l»y the early J^>ritish Chnrcli in
Lma (Scotland).

2. Mercia, compi-ising all tlio central portion of Enu;-
land, rcfMMved the gospel, from Cedda and ids fellow
niis>ionarit's, from the same Scoto- British settlement
in lona.

3. Essex. — The East Saxons, oriijinally converted by
Roman Missionai'ies, completely rt'ia])sed into heatlien-
ism, and the (Huirch was estahlislied among them by
the lalxmrs of the Missionaries from lona.

4. Kent and Wessex, formincj a very small coi-ner of
Enu^land, alone owe the establishment of the Church to
Roman sources.

The Church (^f Rome has, therefore, no claim to the
obedience of the Church of En<rland on the ground
that she gave her Christianity. The British Church
was an independent branch of the Holy Catholic
Church, and is the mother of the Church of England,
whilst the Asiatic Church (through its Gallican
daughter) may be called the mother of the British
Church.

Among the different Anglo-Saxon dioceses there
were no differences in ritual or doctrine, wliilst be-
tween the forms of Christianity derived from Rome,
and those which had come down from the ancient
British (church, there was onlv a difference in mere
externals, such as the time of keeping Easter. The
British Church followed the Asiatic and not the Roman
custom. The Church of the Scots and Picts had re-
ceived the Faith from S- Ninias and British Missionaries,
hence it followed the customs of the British Church.
The Chui'ch of Ireland had been founded by S. Patrick,
a Briton and had in turn sent Missionaries to Scotland.

TIIK SAXON PEIlIOl).

Borne began to lusl for Supremacy. Tin r*- w as fiictioii
uhen Koine, at, this caily datf, licoaii to tlisjilay tlu'
l;;st for s\i|,n'in(j authority, wliich lias »v« i- since
characterized th.it hraiieh ot the Catholic Chiuth.

}-5y the seventh centuiy, a C(>r>ro!niity was estahlished
between the uses of the L'hureh of Koine ami ol the
Church of the 8ax()iis, and the way was prtparrd for
the jjfreat j)relate who sljould confederate the ( hurehe.s
in tlie various kin<;(loins of the Heptarchy into one
ji^eat nati(tnal Church, whicli has ever since heeii
known as The Church of England.

The Church of England older than the State of England.
— The union of the Churches under the nanu.' of The
Church of England took place i'A) years hefore the
union of the seven Saxon Kingdoii", under the name
of the State of England.

Tlie confederation was consummated, 0(14 ad., at
a ^reat Church nieetiiiij;' lield at Whithv in York-
.shire, where a National Synod established the
nationality of The Church of England,

Union of the Church and State, sometimes called the
Establishment, came about thns : — At first, each King-
dom was also a Bishop's Diocese. Hence arose the
patronage of the Kings, each of whom selected a Bishop
for his own Kingdom. Thus the Church and State
were co-ordinate, the Church was the make)-, while the
State was the executor, of the laws. Jealousy between
Church and State did not arise for many generations.
Di.sseiit from the (Jhurch of En<xland was a thiim"
unknown tor 1;?0() year.^ after Christ.

The Endowments of the Church of Fngland — The King,
under whose })rotection a bishopric had been estab-
lished, gave the See means of support, and land out of his
own personal propert}'. The Thanes, or landowners,
also contributed a tithe of their land for the support
of the Church, and the law recognized and protected

864

A, II.

TIIK nUITlSlI CHl'UCll.

( ;

■

tlu' riLjlit.s of tl>o Cliui(!h to th('s<> jMido^vfiK nts. Hence
arose private pati'onaL;*;, eai;h Tlianc who suppoi-t(Ml a
]iarisli priest, exercising a ri^^lit in tli«' elioict^ of his
priest. Thus also the pro|»erty of tlie Church was all
acijuired l>efore tJK^ l>isho[) of Home hail Iteu^un to
interfere uitii hei* imiependence. Nearly all the
Churcli's endowments wert* ac(|uired either li<'foi*(» the
N<»rman ( 'on(|Uest or sinct^ the ll(>form;»tion, Tlw^ ^'iil.V
property ac(piired wlien the (liurch became Ronjani/cd,
between the (,^)rI(plest and the Iletbrmation, was
Monastic land, all of which was taken away by the
Crown at the time of the Reformation wjiicli also
robbed the Chuich of many an acre tiuit had been
<dven by Saxon landowners.

Theodore, Oswy hoAng now th(i Ihetwalda of Kent,

668 ^^'''^^ coiis(>crated and installed as seventh Arch-

A.i>. l)ishop of (/antei'l)ury in A.D. OGS. Theodore was

a Greek monk of Tarsus. He was acknowdedge<l all

over England as Arch})ishop of tlie Chui'ch of Enirland.

Th(nii:h on the one hand Theodon* cemented the dioceses

of England nito one great and national Clnu'ch, yet on

tlie other hand he proved very subservient to the claim

for supremacy' over tlie whole Church of Christendom,

now put ft)rth l)y the Bishop of Rome. He created

manv new^ Sees in England, amonijf which were

Leicester, Lichfield, Worcesttn*, and Hereford. He

^^ died in (>{)() A.D. at the age of eighty-eight, having

governed theChurcli of England twenty-two years.

Bede> the great ecclesiastical historian, was educated
at ti Monastery of Jarrow. To him we owe chiefly
our ivnowdedge of the early history of the Church of
Enghmd. He also translated the four gospels into the
English language.

The Council olCloveshoe, in 747 A.D., attended

2^ by King Ethelbald and his nobles with twelve

bishops and many priests, enacted amongst others

THE SAXON PElllOD. 15

thi'followiiii^ : Tliat bisliops were to visit their dioceses
every year. ReIii,nous ]i()us«'.s \vei*c to be under epis-
copal jiirisdietion. For tlie Ix-nefit of \vorslii])perM,
ministers should not dechiini in a theatrical styh* the
words of the service, hut should use a simj)le uudody.
The Lord's Day should he strictly ohscrvcd. The seven
canonical hours of piayer should be ol^served.

Alcuin WMs born in the middle of the eighth century,

at York. He came of a noble Eniilisli family, was

^"JJ early distiuicuished for his <(reat talent, and in

706, haviui;" been onlained d»'ac<»n, he went to

France, where he became the instructor of the iiri'at

Frank Mmperor Charlemagne, 7J)3 A.D.

DATES.

A. »).

Roman armies leave Hritain 410

Auj,'ustine lands in Kent oD7

S. Paul's, Lcmdon, and S. Peter's, Westminster, built (104

The Heptarehy became Christian ()o4

Saxon Kingdoms (Confederated 604

Theodore, Arehbishop 008

Bede, the H istorian 08 1

Sees of Leicester, Lichlield, Worcester, ami ilereford 01)0

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

CHAPTER Iir.

THE DAXES.

793 A.D.— 1041 A.]>.— 247 Years.)

it!

if!

I',.
'i i

Invasion of the Danes — The Church harassed — Conversion of the
Danes — The Monastie Rule- -Celibate and Married (.;iergy — Canute
— Hardioaniite — Edward the Confeasur — Papal Aggression — Slave
tratlic suppressed — Westminster Abbey — Harold.

Invasion of the Danes— The Church attacked. — In
. , tlio year 708 A.D. tlic Danes from Denmark bejian
to make sad irruptions into, and to harass and
vex Eiio land. The fury oi" these heathens was specially
directed jioainst the Churches and Monasteries. The
rehoions house of Lindisfarue, lying off the oast coast
of Northumberland, Irom within whose walls so many
noble Missionaries had carried the Cross of Christ to
the heathen tribes and kinodoms of Saxon Enaland,
was totally destroyed. One after another the great
centres of religious learning in the central and northern
parts of England were destroyed by che invading
Danes, the monks slain and the Churches burnt.
Winchester, London, Canterbury, and Rochester were
destroyed, and York captured.

For ei'dity years the Danes over-ran Enojand.
' Ifred the Great, who came to the throne in

A. I >.

871 A.D., after seven years of struggle with the
878 foreigners, defeated them at the battle of Ethan-
""*''• dune, in 878 A.D.

Settlement and Conversion of the Danes. — Alfred
.shewed the nobility of his mind by otiering the de-
feated Danes a home in England, instead of exter-

THE DANES.

ininatiriir them, as would hav^e been the more natural
custom of the a^^e. This leniency melted the hearts of
the wild heathens, and their princi{)al men became
Christians. Guthrun, their chief, was baptized, havinn-
Alfred for his godfather, and received the name of
Athelstane.

Alfred's Laws and Schools. — Alfred, who has been
rightly numbered among the best of England's Sove-
reigns, published a remarkable code of ecclesiastical
laws, by which he assured, to a large extent, harmony
in the Christian faith between the English and the
newly converted Danes. He also established schools,
and wrote many books of instruction in the Enolish
tongue.

Under the fostering care of Alfred, who probably
planted the school wdiich afterwards grew into the
University of Oxford, the Church of England advanced
rapidly in learning and vigour.

Establishment of the Monastic Rule. — The Saxon re-
ligious houses, had been swept away by the Danes.
But a few monks were left. The Bishops had become
very intiuential, and the clergy were generally
Y^ married. In 942 A.D. Odo was appointed by
King Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury. Odo
had been a monk, and he now set himself to suppress
the married clergy, and to re-establish the Monastic
Rule.

In 957 A.D., S. Dunstan became Archbishop of
^^^ Canterbur}', and followed in the footsteps of Odo.
From this point commences the Struggle be-
tween THE CELIBATE AND MARRIED CLERGY, the monks
and the clerks, w^hich forms the chief history of the
Church of this period. Gradually, by the exercise of
royal and episcopal power, a large number of married
clin-gy were put out of their benefices and the Monastic
Hide became more firmly established.
3

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The Danes who had been pacified by Alfred's jrenerous

policy, were again raised to fury, by the cruel massacre

of a large number of them, ordered by King Ethelred

the Unread}^ in 1002 A.D. At tliis time Elphege

1002 Archbishop of Canterbury, bravely refusing to

allow the revenues of the Church to be used for

his i-ansom was murdei'ed by the Danes who had made

him their prisoner. From Ethelred 931 A.D. to the

accession of Canute the Dane in 1017 a.d. England

^^J' was again ravaged in many bloody wars. The

Primate of the Church, many of the clergy, and

many monks perished, on the extinction of the Saxon

line of kings, in the person of Edmund, who died in

lOlG A.D.

Canute the First of the Danish Kings of England suc-
ceeded to the throne. This stern warrior became a
wise and pacific ruler, and proved a zealous upholder
of the Church of England. He restored the religious
houses which his followers had once destroyed, and he
jQ«K founded many others. The eighteen years of his
A.I), reign was a period of restoration and growth for
1041 the Church. He died in 1035 and was succeeded
^■^' by Hardicanute, who died in 1041 a.d.

The English Royalty was restored in the person
^^^ of Edward the Confessor, so named for his
piety, 1041 A.D. Edward had spent his early life
abroad and was moi'e Norman than English. He put
many foreigners into the English sees, and strove to
bring the Church of England into subjection to the
Bishop of Rome. Thus The National Character
OF the Church of England was impaired, and " we
now hear, for the first time, of Bishops of the Church
of Eni^land ii'oinc* to Rome for consecration or con-
firmation, and of a Roman court attempting to veto
the nomination of the English King."

generous
lassacre
i^thelred
Ilphege
iHing to
used for
id made
to the
iJngland
5. The
2;y, and
s Saxon
died in

id suc-
came a
iliolder
iligious
and he
J of his
irth for
ceeded

THE DANES. 19

1061 ^® ^^*^® ^^^^^ ^° Ireland was suppressed to a

A.O. feat extent at this time by the hibours of Arch-
bishop Ealdred, lOGl a.d.

065 The Church of The New Westminster near

'^•c- London was erected and consecrated 1065 a.d.

Edward died in this year, and Archbishop Sti^and

summonmg the Witan or Parliament of England, thev

chose Harold as his successor to the crown. Harold

was crowned in the New Westminster Abbey Church.

DATES.

Invasion by the Danes ... . ^^I*-

Alfred the Great ]] ^^^

Danes Converted ^^^

Canute ' " ^78

Hardicanute 1017

Edward the Confessor ........'., }^^

Slave trafhe suppressed , ,^J

Harold chosen KiuL' ^""*

^ 1065

person
or his
dy life
le put
ove to
to the

:ACTER

d " we
Church
r con-
veto

the: BRITISH CHURCH.

1 !'
i I

' I

CHAPTER IV.

NORMAX PERIOD.

(1066 A.D.— 1154 A.D.— 88 Years.

WILLIAM I.

(1066 A.D.— 1087 A.D.— 21 Years.)

Norman influence inthe Cluirch— Persecution of Phiglish Bishops-
York and Canterbury — Clerical Celibacy- Supremacy of the Crown
— The Service books.

William I.— Norman Element in the Church — In
1066 iQQQ j^j^ William the Conqueror ascended the
throne of England. His policy, from the first was
to fill all offices, in both State and Church, with
foreigners from Normandy. Thus the Church of
England, invaded by Italian prelates lost to a great
extent its nationality. So fully was this policy
followed by the first Norman King, that for a long
time no Englishman was appointed to a bishopric.

William, like Henry VIII. of later history, raided
the monasteries, and poured their riches into his royal
treasur3^ Down to the period of the Norman Conquest
the serious pretentions of the Koman See had not
troubled the English Church. William proved a close
ally of the Pope, and placed the Church under the rule
of Rome in things spiritual.

English Bishops persecuted. — To his policy of denation-
alizing the Church the King added the actual deposition
of all but one of the English Bishops. He obtained

1070 for Archbishop of Canterburj' Lunfranc, who was

A.u. consecrated 1070 A.D.

<^a

"5«

NORMAN PERIOD.

Subjection of York to Canterbury. — In 1072 the
yI^ ecclesiastical Province of York was subjected to
that of Canterbury, and the river Humber was
decreed as the division of the two jurisdictions.

Norman Architecture commenced in England during:
the episcopate of Lanfranc. Grand Cathedrals were
rebuilt at Canterbury, York, London, Winchester,
Rochester, Worcester, and Lincoln.

Clerical Celibacy — In 1076 A.D. at the council

^^^° of Winchester Clerical Celibacy, which was being

pressed by the Pope of Rome, was enacted by

Canon in Jie Church of England. The Canon was

never strictly observed in England.

Supremacy of the Crown — William I., claimed an
ecclesiastical supremacy which far exceeded that
afterwards exercised by Henry VIII.

As the personal claims of the King to rule the
Church were allowed, so he exhibited an increased
spirit of independence toward Rome.

The Service Books.— During this reign Bishop Osmund
of Salisbury compiled the English Church Service
books, known as the Sarum (Salisbury) Use, which
became the (general Use or Rite of the Church of
England.

DATES.

A.D.

William I. seizes the throne 1066

Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury 1070

Ecclesiastical Provinces of Canterbury and York 1072

Clerical Celibacy enacted ' . . . 1076

Service Books compiled 1087

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

CHAPTER V.

WILLIAM 11.

(1087 A. D.— 1100 A.D.— 13 Years.)

Simony — Anselm — First appeal to Rome — Liberty of Englishmen
secured by clergy — Royal Supremacy.

Simony- — The sin of Simony, so called from the
offence of Simon (Acts viii.) consisted in the sale of
Church affairs. Ralph Flambard, a clerk and the
King's justiciary, introduced, for the benefit of the
royal revenue, a regular system of sale of Church
offices and emoluments. This perilous offence spread
to the clergy, many of whom, finding that they could
obtain preferment in no other way than by purchase,
shamelessly adopted this unholy method of securing
the benefices of the Church. Rapid deterioration in
the character of the clergy and in the condition of the
Church followed.

Observe that this fall in the standard of morality
was due, not to errors in doctrine but to errors in life

Anselm. — -1093 a.d. This great Bishop was

AD ^'^i'"^^^ ^P f^i' ^^^ reformation of the great evil of

Simony. He was Abbot of Bee in Normandy, and

in 1078 A.D., and on several other occasions, visited

England.

When the Primacy had been kept a long time vacant
by William, in order that his exchequer might be
replenished out of the revenues of Canterbury, so
great a clamor was raised by the nobles and chief men

NORMAN PERIOD

of Eni^land, that tlu^ Kini( was forced to yield and
a^Tco to the consecration of Ansehii as Aiclibisliop of
Caiiterhury, whicli accordingly^ took place in 10!)3 A.d.

The King quarrelled with Anselm — The chief subject
of dispute between the King and Primate was the etlbrt
of the former to obtain, by tyrannical means, grants of
money from the Church, whilst the Archbishop steadily
refused to countenance the means employed for this
pui'pose.

First Appeal to Rome — At length Ansehn's

1095

A. I).

boldness gave way, and he fled to Rome, 10!b">
A.D., where he remained in exile, appealing to the
Pope for the next three years for protection and help.
This was an unfortunate abdication of his position by
the Archbishop, who had so long fought, at home
against the simoniacal tendencies of the age. A pre-
cedent was established, of which Rome was not slow
to take advantage, the precedent of appeal fi'om the
Church of England to the Church of Rome.

Liberty of Englishmen secured by the Clergy — The boLl
stand which had, before this occurrence, been taken
by Anselm, and was again renewed on his return to
England, invoked among the clergy, a spirit of resist-
ance to the unjust exactions of the King, which bore
fruit in securing to a large extent, the liberty of the
people from the arbitrary exercise of a royal preroga-
tive which the Crown sought to establish of raisino-
mone}^ without the authority of Parliament.

The quarel was healed towards the end of William's
reign It was agreed that all Bishops were to swear
allegiance to the Crown of England. Thus no foreigner
could occupy the Sees of the Church of England. The
King surrendered his claim to nominate Bishops to
vacant Sees, but by practically securing the election of
the chapters or cathedral corporations, he retained
some control over the selection of the Bishops.

Ill

ill

,11

!!ir

24 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The Pope's jurisdiction was in part recognized, but
he could send no legate to England without the license
of the King.

Royal Supremacj . — Thus the Royal Supremacy over
all British subjects was maintained, while increased
lil)orty of self-government in things ecclesiastical and
s])iritual, and the election of her own Bishops, were
secured to the Church of England.

DATES.

A.D.

William II. crowned 1087

Aiisclin Archbishop 1093

First apiieal to Rome 1095

: 'I

;i"

NORMAN PERIOD.

CHAPTER VI.

HENRY I.

(1100 A. D.— 1135 A.D.— 35 Years.)

Eflforts to aforce Celibacy — Anselm died — Kinpr attempts to enthral
the Church — Resistance to Papal claims —Church of England sub-
jected to the Pope of Rome.

Durino; this reiirn the stato of the Cluirch was
greatly improved. There continued, however, an ever
present irritation among the clergy, owing to the
attempts made from time to time to subserve the old
haijits an'' customs of the Church of Enoland to the
rule of the Church of Rome.

Efforts to enforce Celibacy- — This irritation was in-
creased by the repeated efforts of Rome to enforce
V D celibacy upon the English clergy. Canons on
this subject passed in 1104 A.D., were nugatory.

Anselm died in 1109. The Archbishop was one of
the brightest ornaments in the long line of occupants
of the ksee of Canterbury. He was learned and a deep
thinker, earnest, devoted, tolerant, and gentle. It
must be confessed that he did much to enslave the
Church of England to the Popedom of Rome, yet he
also was very successful in purifying the Church of
many gross evils, chief among which was that of
Simony. If Anselm sought to bring the Church of
England under subjection to the foreign Bishop of
Rome, his cotemporary Ralph Flambard endeavored
to erastianize her, that is to say, to subject the Church
in spirituals as well as in temporals to the Crown.

'TT

TIIK BRITISH CHURCH.

King attempts to enthral the Church — On the death
of Anst'hn Henry a^i^ain .sou«,rht to place liis lieel upon
the Cluircli, by keeping the cliief Sees, as they tell
vacant, empty, in order to draw their revenues for his
own use.

King resists the Papal Claims. — At the same time the
King withstood the claims of interference on tlie part
of the Pope, in which he was generally supported by
the English Bishops. At this period no appeals were
sent to Rome, the Church of England acting indepen-
dently of the Bishop of Rome.

When, in 1115 A.D., a Roman appeared before
A L) ^^^^ ^^i^oj then in Normandy, bearing a commis-
sion from the Pope to act as Legate in England,
this new and unheard of claim, the establishment of a
permanent Papal Legate in England, was successfully
resisted by King, BisliOj)s, Abbots, and Clergy. When
the attempt was again made by the imposition of
William of Corbeil, raised .,0 the Primacy of Canter-
bury, and a follower of the notorious Ralph Flam bard,
upon the Church of England as Papal Legate, it was
vigorously opposed, for says Gervas, in his " Pontifical
Acts " : " It is a thing well known to the kinodom of
England, and to all the regions lying round about, that,
from the days of Augustine, the first Metropolitan of
Canterbury, up to the time of this William, the suc-
cessor of Augustine, * * had never been placed
under the dominion of any Papal Legate."

This difference was long in healing, for it was always
the policy of the Pope of Rome to keep questions of
dispute unsettled and open, in order to maintain depen-
dence upon his decrees.

For political reasons Henry favoured this attempt,
and William allowed himself to be appointed the
Legate of the Pope. Thus the Primate of all Eng-
land, the alterius orhis papa, the Patriarch to whom

NORMAN PERIOD.

the British Church in Wales, the Irish Churcli,

and Scotch Chinch now looked for consecration of

tlieir Bishops, sulmitted to f^ovein the Church

1 1 no 1 ' c!> ^

AD ^^ England by authority of the Bishop of Home.
Here we may date, 1120 A.D. the

Vassalage of the Church of England to the Pope of Bcme.
— Canons were again passed in 1127 A.D. forbidding
clerical matrimony, but they again proved inetl'ectual.

Another plan of Rome to obtain control of the Chuixh
of England was, to confer privileges of emancipation
fiom the control of their diocesans upon the monastic
orders in England.

See of Carlisle was founded in 1 133 A.D. Henry
1135 ^' ^^^^^ "^ 1185 A.D., and Stephen, Count of Blois

1133

A.I>.

A.D.

seized the throne of England.

DATES.

A.D.

Henry I., Beauclerc 1 100

Clerical Celibacy — Canona 1 104

Death of Anselrn 1109

Iwinan Legate resisted 1115

Church subjected to the Pope 1126

See of Carlisle founded 113S

I '

THE ]JRITISH CHUUCH.

CHAPTER VII.

stephp:n and henry ii.

(11.35 A.D. to 1189 A.D.)

>5tcphcn— Evil days for the Church— Henry II.— Immorality in the
Church —Erastianism — Thomas a Becket — Bccket murdered —
Increase of I'apal power.

STEPHEN— 1135 A.D.

1135 Stephen was crowned at Winchester (the then
^'^- capital of Enorhmd) in 1135.

Evil days for the Church — The years of Stephen's

reign were evil days for the Church and the country.

Every person was practically a petty King ruling from

his fortified castle, and ravaoing: the nei<jrhborhood in

which he dwelt. Reverence for holy places was

A.i), ^Itt^^'^t entirely cast away. Stephen died 1154

A.D., and Archbishop Theobald conducted the

regency as head of the Council of State.

HENRY II.

Henry II. — Crowned 1154 A.D., began his reign by

the establishment of fixed Courts, and regular Judges

for the administration of the law. Archbishop

A 5 Theobald died in 1161 A.D., and was succeeded by

Thomas a Becket in 1102 A.D.

Immorality in the Church. — The crying grievance of
the Church of England, at this time, was the outrageous
immorality of the clergy ; the term clergy was not
then confined to the bisphops, priests, and deacons.

NOUMAN I'KIUOD.

but included all who had any administration oi* otHco
in the Cliuirh.

This was a result of the eighteen years of disaster
wliilst Stephen reii,nied.

Erastianism. — The policv of Henry II. was to tie the
Church to the Crown by leading- strings held in the
hand of the Sovereijiii.

This prinei[)le known as Erastianism,

Thomas a Becket stoutly resisted. In his stand for
libeity Beeket coid'ronted boldly the King, the barons,
and the great chui'chmen of England ; his friends were
the common people, whilst the Bishop of Rome but
feebly supported him.

1170 ^^li^' quarrel between the King and the Arch-
A.i>- bishop lasted four years. At last in 1170 A.i).

Becket was Murdered- — Historians are divided in
their opinions as to the responsibility of Henry 11. for
this foul deed. The King, himself, by open confession
and public penance, disavowed any wilful share in the
act. The murder of the Archbishop was a heavy blow
to the Church of England. Becket wdio in his troubles
leaned hard on the arm of the Papal power, bears
testimony that reverence for the Pope had almost
ceased in England.

Tlie Church was a popular institution. From the
days of the conquest the Church had always been found
on the side of the liberty of the people, notwithstanding
tyrannies of Kings or nobles.

Ihe Papal Power Increased in England at the death of
tlie Archbishop. For six yesiVis the Church of England
remained without a Primate.

In this interval the power of the papacy w^as devel-
loped by policy on the part of Rome. The Bisho]) of
Rome invested the monastic orders with piivi leges

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

M )

which freed them from episcopal control, and bound
them to the cause of the Bishop of Rome. For example,
when Robert, Abbot of S. Albans applied to the Pope
Adrian for relief from what he termed " the intolerable
oppression of the Bishop of Lincoln," Adrian gave him
a bull which decreed " that all the dwellers 'n the
monastery. . . .should be free altogether from subjec-
tion to the Bishop, and should only be subject to the
Roman Pontitf."

Su'^'h a precedent soon found imitators, and the
authority of the English Bishops was much curtailed.
By tlie system of appeals to Rome which now grew up
episcopal control was still further weakened.

1189 Henry II. died 1189 A.D.

A.D.

DATES.

A.D.

Stephen 1135

Henry II 1154

Thomas h B-^cket, Archbishop 1 162

Murder of the Archbishop 1170

Death of Henry 1189

It I

NORMAN PERIOD.

CHAPTER VIII.

RICHARD I. AND JOHN.

(1189 A.D. to 121G A.D.— 27 Years.)

Richard C(Vur-de-Lion — Papal power — Subjection of the Church of
England to the Church of Rome — The false Decretals — John —
Stephen Langtou^ Archbishop — The Interdict — The King's Sub-
mission to the Pope — Magna Charta — Persecution of the Church.

RICHARD I.

Richard, Coeur-de-Lion, came to the throne in 1189,
and though he opposed vigourously the Papal usurpa-
tion, yet during his reign

The Papal Power reached its highest point — In this
year Innocent III. became Pope. The Bishop of Rome
in this reio-n became feudal chief of Christendom and
the Church of England shared in the general subjec-
tion to his autocratic sway.

Church of England subjected to the Church of Rome.—
Innocent succeeded in making the national C^hurch of

England a simple tributary of the foreign Church of
Rome. This was largely brought a-bout by the in-
fluence of

The False Decretals — These decretals, the irreater
part«.f the contents of which have been proved to be
unblushing forgeries, were put forth to persuade the
world that the Popes had from the most primitive
times been in the habit of issuino: authoritative
mandates binding on all Christendom. These pre-
tended decretals were full of assertions of Papal

31 : i

III

?ii

«)

}
I

•I

I
I

:l i

* !

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

prerogatives. These decretals have long ago been
ex|)lo(led, as wicked inventions and gross forgeries.

The monastic orders who represented to the fullest
the claimed headship of the Bishop of Rome, trampled
everywhere over the " Parish Priests " or as tliey were
nicknamed the " secular clergy."

Independence of the Church betrayed by the Archbishop.

— In this unhaj)py state of afi'airs, the Archbishop of
Canterbury betrayed the independence of the Church
of England, accepted the foreign authority of the
Pope, and submitted to act as the Legate of the
Bishoi^ of Eome in England.

It was an unfortunate coincidence of the history of
the Church of England, that the greatest of the Roman
Pontifis — Innocent III. should be cotemporary with the
weakest of the English Kings — John.

JOHN.

John ascended the throne in 1199 A.D. In the
Y'p election of the next Archbishop of Canterbury,
Cardinal

Stephen Langton- — The Pope completely ignored all
rights of the Crown of England. This act of usurpation
roused the fury of the passionate but weak John, who
drove the monks of Canterbury, the tools of the Pope
in this afi'air, from their home, and swore a mighty
oath that Stephen Langton should never set foot on
England's shores.

The Interdict, 1208 A.D. The Pope retaliated

1208 jjy placing the country under an Interdict. By

this form of excommunication all Divine offices,

exccj-t only the baptism of inftints, and the confession,

and absolution of the dying, ceased.

Yet three Bishops, Winchester, Bath, and Norwich,
remained faithful to the King and Church, and in
their dioceses the Interdict w^as little observed.

NORMAN PERIOD.

The Pope now excoinnmuicated tlie Kiug, but no
man was found in England wlio dared to publish tlie
bull. Tlie King, but for his personal unpopularity
with his subjects, niiglit have successfully resisted the
Papal tyrainiy.

The Pope now forniall}- deposed King John, and
ofTerjd the Crown of England to Philip II. of France.

John submits to the Pope a!id agrees to hold his
crown as the deputy of the Pope.

Relying upon the help of Rome he proceeded to tax
and harrass his subjects.

The nobles, as leaders of the English nation, securing
the aid of Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterl)ury,
raised an army, marched on London, and wrung from
the King the famous

Magna Charta which embodies the liberty of
]^l^ the British subject. In Magna Charta ' the
liberty of the Church of England as the truest
means of securing liberty to the English sul)ject is tirst
secured. The charter begins "Let the English Church
be free. {Quod (m(/licana ecclesitt libera nit.) The
Poj^e now turned upon the barons and fulminated a
bull of excommunication against them, which, however,
fell harndess.

The noble hearted Primate stood firm by the uarons
. ,ainst King and Pope, and has earned thereby the
lasting gratitude of all who appreciate the gift of
British liberty m Church and State.

Persecution of the Church. — The whole fury of John,

aided and abetted by Innocent, fell upon the pi'iests of

the Church of England who resisted Papal and Royal

tyranny. Many were murdered at their altars.

, i" The evil Kiuir died, and his death gave a tem-

A. D. O ' o

porary relief to the persecuted Church.

34 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

DATES.

ffhardi ^^

John J jgg

The Interdict " ' * jono

Magna Charta loi ''

1!- \

NORMAX PERIOD.

CHAPTER IX.

HENRY III.

(1216 A.D. to 1272 A.D.— 56 Years.)

The Protectorate — The Dominicans and Franciscans — Kome first
taxes England — Resistance to Papal Usurpation — Church pillaged
by Pope and Crown — Westminster Abbey Church.

Henry III. was l)ut a boy when his father John

^ jj died. The Church lay prostrate, pillaged, and

oppressed. William, Earl of Pembroke, was

appointed royal guardian, and with him w^as associated,

by the influence of the Pope as his legate, Peter des

Roches, Bishop of Winchester.

In tliis year, the clergy wrung from the Pope
, ^^ and the Crown some recoonition of the riffht of
the clergy to marry.

The Dominicans and Franciscans- — It was at the be-
ginning of the thirteenth century that Dominic, a
^^ Spanish nobleman, had engaged in the organiza-
tion of a band of Misskjn Preachers known
from their founder as Dominicans and from their dress
as The Black Friars. Their enthusiasm and holy zeal
as preachers worked a great revival of spiritual life
throughout Christendom.

About five years later there arose another order of
Mission preachers who from their founder St. Francis
of A^asisi, were known as the Franciscans. They received
the full support of the Pope, and eventually the degen-
eracy of these orders contributed to the powerful
reaction that set in over all England, against Papal
influence.

THE JiUlTJSll CHLKCH.

tl ■''

Rome first taxes England. — About 1220 A.D.,
vb ^''*^ ^'"■''^ systematic attempt oi the Bishop of
Koine to draw revenue by taxation of the Cliuich
of Eiiolaiul was made.

It awakened a vigorous opposition, wliich lielped to
mar the intluence of the Pope in Enghmd. When
Henry, in subjection to the wishes of the Pope, pro-
posed to give a tenth of all his subjects' income, to the
latter as tiie price of Papal support, the Church and
people of England resisted King and Pope.

For a time Rome and the Crown proved too strong
for the barons and clergy, and the latter succumbed.
Thus did tlie Pope despoil the Church of England.

Soon he increased his demand. He claimed the
I'lD'ht to nominate the Primate of Enoland.

In 1235 A.D., Robert Ghussetete became
^^j^^ ARcHJiJSHOP OF Canterbukv Thougli for some
time he could do nothing but quietly su})mit to
the exactions of the Bishop of Rome, yet at last he
cast off* the coils, and set himself to restore the indepen-
dence of tlie Church of England.

Another Papal legate appeared in England. For
his own political ends Henry supported the new legate.
He used all sorts of expedients to rob the Church.

Again the alliance of Pope and King proved too
strong for the clergy to resist successfully. The Arch-
bishop, struggling to uphold the rights of the Church
against an encroaching King and tyranizing Pope, was
at length forced into exile.

Ten years later, his namesake, one of the greatest of
England's bishops, Gross etete Bishop of Lincoln,
revolted against the yoke of Rome.

As the exactions of the Bishop of Rome continued
to press more and more heavily on those hitherto most
devoted to the Papacy, they were at length driven into
opposition.

NORM AX PKRIOD.

These nationalists wore headed by Grossetete. Tlie
hohl Bishop died in 1258 A.D.; with his dying breath
he denounced the abuses and exactions of the Papacy.
In 1252 A.D., tlie National Church party secured two
points : 1. That the Parliament should be the only
power to tax the people. 2. The convocation of tlu^
clergy to vote their own taxation.

Resistance of the Church of England to the Papal
Supremacy. — The Church history of the reign of Henry
III. is a history of continuous struggle between the
National Church of England and the King in alliance
with the Bishop of Rome. Again and again the clergy
stoutly resisted the exactions of the Pope. At the

Parliament of Oxford 1258 a.d. a bold stand was
\^D^ taken by the clergy, and the Parliament together.

This drew from Pope Alexander a long and
apologetic letter. So hatciul was the attempted dis-
posal of English benefices by the patronage of the
Bishop of Rome, that a Roman, bearing from the
Pope letters demanding the vacant stall at S. Paul's
Cathedral, was murdered in open daylight in the streets
of London. The Pope put forth his utmost endeavours
to break up the league of barons, prelates, and clergy,
and for this purpose he secured the alliance of the
King.

The Church Pillaged by Pope and Crown — At the
AD ^^t^l® ^f Evesham (Worcestershire) the King

triumphed over the great protector of the clergy
Simon de Montford, who was slain upon the field.

The Pope and King wreaked their vengeance on the
clergy. The religious houses were forced to pay a
large yearly sum to the Pope and, in addition, one
tenth of their income was to be given to the royal
treasury, for three years. Thus was the Church pil-
laged, as so often before by Pope and Crown.

1269 In 1269 a.d., Henry III. completed the Abbey
AD- Church at Westminster, which became the hand-

HI •■

-I I

III!
Oil

Ull
INi

88 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

somest Church in Christendom. The latter years
of this reign were comparatively peaceful, and all
matters in dispute between the King-Pope alliance on
the one side, and the clergy and barons of England on
the other, were, for a time, held in abeyance.

In 1272 A.D. Henry III. died.

DATES.

A.D.

Henry III 1216

The Dominicans 1216

The Franciscans 1225

Home first taxes England 1226

Robert Grossetete, Archl)ishop of Canterbury 1235

Robert Grossetete, Bishop of Lincoln 1237

Church pillaged by Pope and Crown , 1265

Battle of Eveshain 1266

Westminster Abbey Church completed 1269

Henry died 1272

NORMAN PERIOD.

CHAPTER X.

EDWARD I.

(1272 A.D. to 1307 A.D.— 35 Years.)

Eilward I. — The Pope provides a Primate — Power of English Bishops
reduced — Tope opposed by King — Alienation of the clergy from
the Crown — Church revenues pillaged — Policy of the Pope —
Statutes of Provisors and Prtemunire — Statute of Carlisle — Peter's
pence.

Edward I. — The reign of this bad and un-
A D scrupulous King was an era of great importance
to the history of the Church of Enghmd. The
Dominican and Franciscan preachers were labouring
devotedly among the neglected masses. The clergy
were learning to take a firmer stand for the National
Jhurch of England as against the tyrannical usurpa-
tions of the Bishop of Rome.

A Primate provided by the Pope — Edward's reign had

hardly begun when the Pope " provided" an Archbishop

to fill the vacancy of Canterbury. The new Primate

Robert was consecrated bv the Bishop of Bath

1070 TT

^f'^"^ and eleven other Bishops in 1272 A.D. He was a

learned and holy man, but a dangerous Primate

for England, because he was bound to the Bishop of

Rome, and throughout his episcopate proved an ardent

supporter of Papal claims.

The English Bishops' Power Reduced. — It had always
been the policy of the Popes to fill England with
monastic or preaching orders, who were quite ready, to
be abetted in their independence of episcopal control.

TlIK imiTISH CHURCH.

Now that a Bisliop nurtiirtMl in tlioir order was
raised to tin; Pi'iniaey, and four great orders of mission
pniaelici's, Dominieans, Fi-anciscans. Augiistinians, and
(Jarnu'litcs, were in full vinour, the influence of the
Ennlish J}ishoj)s was much curtailed.

The prineiplr of episcojml independence has always
l»een the stronghold of the national independence of
the Church of Knjjfland. Friars in ])re reformation
times, and dissenters and nonconformists in post
reformation times have been impatient of episcopal
coi.ttrol, and have both sought thr; denationalization of
the Church of England. Divine providence has always
raised a champion for the Church.

The King opposes the Pope. — When it appeared as if
the Pope would reduce the Chuicli of England to the
most abject bimdage, the King stood forth, not perhaps
from viM-y jmre motives, to defend her from Papal
exactions. It has been said that in the middle of the
thirteenth century, 70,000 marks a year, a sum far
exc(.'e(ling the royal revenue was drawn from England,
and paid into the Papal court.

We find now the tables turned on the state of affairs
in Henry's reign. Then we had clergy and barons
op]>osing King and people.

For a time we shall find clergy and Pope in alliance
aoainst Kinii; and barons.

Alienation of the Clergy. — In 1283 A. D. convoca-

A D ^^^^^^ '^^ ^^'^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ England Avas summoned. It
was comprised of the Bishops and two clergy
representatives from each diocese. An alienation of
the clergy from the Crow^i succeeded. The chief cause
was, that attempt by which the state has so often
violated the lirst claim of Magna Charta, the attempt
to force tlie clergy into the secular Courts to plead
there on matters which belong properly to spiritual
Courts. The same grievance has alwa3"s been keenly
f<'lt as late as the present century.

NOKMAN I'KUIol).

Church Revenues pillaged by the Crown. — The
1294 |,;i,,,r i,^ 12!)4 A.!). (U'lujUKlcd oiu'-lialf the revenues

A.I*. ^

of the eh'rn;y for liis own needs, and they were
obhgefl to yiekl to the demand.

Tlie liistor}' of the Churcli of England lias heen an
ahnost continuous record of her pilla;,^'.

Policy of the Pope — The unfortunate position of the
Churcli of En<dand was at this time made worse bv
the (hiring policy of Pope Boniface VIII. His plan of
action was to gain control of the revenues of all the
churches of Europe, and by tliis means obtain intluerice
over all the princes of Europe, who were without
exception, in need of ])ecuniary ai<l. The Pope pro-
posed to subsidise the imj^ecunious princes out of the
revenues of the Church.

In 1297 A.D., a turn of the political tide brought

^^ J J ' the Church for a time to the crest of the waves.

The Kino- renounced the rifjht of taxincf the clerfjy

without their consent, and the clerofv declared that

they might aid the King without permission from the

Bishop of Rome.

The Statutes of Provisors and Prcemunire. — The first

was passed against Papal provWwni^, that is nomina-
tions made by the Pope to certain l)enefices of which
he claimed the patronage, before they became actually
void. The latter, named from the words " prremunire
facias A. B.," (cause A. B. to be forewarned) by wdiicli
the violators of the statute were summoned, is directed
against the introduction of a foreign power into this
land especially the paying that obedience to Papal
enactments, which constitutionally belongs t(5 the
Crown alone.

These statutes manifested the spirit of the ancient
Church of England and eventually the feeling culmin-
ated in the complete emancipation of the English
Church from Papal control.
6

tiff'

I* ^1

.1'

•!'

Uil

Ml
Ml

iiai

yf\

THE BUITISH CHUllCU.

The Statute of Carlisle in thirty-fiftli year of
AD Edward I. forbids payment of Peter's penee, and
other illegal acts. Peter's pence began in an
engagement made by Ofl'a, King of Mercia, who in 7i)2
A.l). as an act of atonement for cruel bloodshed promised
♦^,he then Bishop of Rome, a yearly donation for the
su[)port of an English college at Rome. This donation
he raised by a tax of a penny on each house possessed
of thirty pence a year. This imposition, afterwards
levied en all England, though conferred at first as a
gift, was afterwards claimed as a tribute by the Bishop
of Rome, and was known as Peter's Pence.

1307 Edward I. died in 1307 A.D., and was succeeded
A.D. by his son.

DATES.

A.D.

Edward I 1272

Alienation of Clergy from the Crown 1283

Church Revenues pillaged by the Crown 1294

Church recovering 1297

Statutes of Provisors and Pra?niunire 1307

Edward dies 1307

NORMAN PKEIOD.

CHAPTER XL

EDWARD II. TO HENRY VI.

(1307 A.D. to 1485 A.D. -178 Years.)

Ascendancy of Papal power — Statutes of Provisors and Pni'iminire —
John Wycliflfe — Schism in Rome — Translation of the Bible — The
Lollards— Subserviency of clergy to Rome — Oldcastle executed —
Unpopularity of Bishops— Struggle between England and the
Pope,

Ascendancy of Papal Power.— Ed V a rd TI. succeeded

his father. Under this weak and vacillating

1307 King, Papal influence again obtained a great

ascendancy. England was in a woeful state,

than which the terrorism of the days of John and

Stephen was little, if any, worse.

EDWARD III.
(1327 A.D. to 1377' A. i>.— 50 Years.)

Edward III. came to the throne in 1327 A.D.
J P The accession of this King improved the condition
of Church and State. He opposed with spirit all
foreign interference in his kingdom.

The Statute of Provisors was re-enacted. This
^^ act curtailed the power of the Pope, and protected
the nationality of the Church of England. It
forbid the sending out of the country all incomes of
monasteries founded in England, cut off the patronage
of the Pope over English benefices, and forbid appeals
to Rome.

fl\.

THE milTISH CHURCH.

The Statute of Proemunire was added, and f iirth er

^ ^ restraint placud upon the influence of the Bishop

of Rome over the State and Church of England.

The Court of the Rom^tn Bishops was ever the centre
of disturbance and usui'pation.

The National Church of Enorland had now beirun
to assert her independence, and went steadily forward
until that independence of foreign usurpation was
consummated durinof the davs of the OTeat Reformation.

From this period she began to recover gradually
what liad been lost of national liberty and doctrinal
purity.

The prelates of the Church of England had b}' their
long time vacilation and frequent abject subserviency
to the foreign Bishop of Rome forfeited the respect of
the great bulk of Englishmen ; especially had this been
the c mduct of those prelates who held the most
important and responsible positions.

In I3G5 A.D. another revised Statute of Prcu-
AD ^'''^^^^^^''^ was with the consent of the clergy passed
by Parliament. This again curtailed the Papal
supremacy.

John Wycliffe. — At this time John Wycliffe appeared
He was a strong opponent of the Friars, and therefore
of their director the Pope. He became leader of that
part of the anti-papal party which vigorously opposed
the subjection of the Church of England to the Bishop
of Rome.

Edward IH. suffering severe reverses abroad, and at
home, now sought to conciliate the Pope, and was urged
by him to take proceedings against John Wyclitfe.
Wycliffe's denunciation of the higher clergy was aimed
at the reduction of their worldliness and luxury : they
sought to crush their accuser, by bringing accusations
of heresy against him.

Edward III. died, and was succeeded by his grandson.

NOllMAN PERIOD.

EICHAKD li.
(1377 A.D. to 1399 A.D,— 22 Years.)

Wycliffe's strong argument was, that the endowments
of our forefathers were not for the whole Cliurcli, but
particulai-ly for the Church of England. He generally
repudiated the claims of the Pope to supremacy over
the Catholic Church of Christ.

A Schism in Rome- — At this time a great schism
^^^^ occurred in the Church of Rome. Two Popes
claimed the Papal chair. The Pope at l>^)me ex-
communicated the Pope at Avignon (France.)

Wycliffe's Teaching. — Wyclifi'e now turned his atten-
tion to theological writing. His chief work was the
Translation of the Holy Scriptures into the English
tongue. His theological propositions may be Iniefiy
summed up thus : He protested against the Koman
doctrine of Transubstantiation ; but he vigorously
upheld the Catholic doctrine of the real presence of
C hrist in the Holy F'-^hnrist. He declares that he
ag?"ees to Holy Scripi/ures, the ancient doctors and the
decrees of the Church. "The bread" he says "is
by miracle Christ's Body, and just as in the Incarna-
tion, there were two perfect natures in one person, so
is it in the Eucharist, the sacrament of the altar retains
the nature of bread and wine, but is sacramentally the
b'ody and blood of Christ." He ends by denouncing
Avoe upon those who prefer the teaching of the later to
that of the earlier Church. Outside of this tlie doctrine
of the Holy Eucharist, Wycliffe's contentions for reform
had reference chiefly to matters of discipline and
morality of life.

Scriptures Translated before Wycliffe. — It must not be
thought that the Holy Scriptures had not been trans-
hited before Wycliffe's time. There had been njaiiy
translations made before the Norman Conquest, buu the

^fr

(••^"•■^^••piw

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

INtl'l

lit

English of that period was become a. jnk -.uwn a
language to the people as Latin. Wyclitfe translated
the Bible into the vernacular language of the day. His
version was made from the Vulgate of Jerome, not from
those original Greek and Hebrew sources from which
our present authorized version was afterwards rendered
in the reign of James I.

Wycliffe was seized with paralysis on Innocents
1384 j).jy 23*^4 j^jy g^g -j^Q ^^g hearing mass in his Church

at Lutterworth, and died in two days. By his
spirited protest partly against false doctrine but chiefly
against tyranny, inmiorality and worldliness in the
Church, he incited that reformation of the life, doctrine,
and discipline of the Church of England which was
afterwards brought to an issue in the sixteenth century.
Yet many historians affirm that the influence of
Wycliffe was by no means lasting ; at least Lollardism,
which specially upheld Wyclifle's name and opinions,
did not last long, and had died out before the great
English Reformation.

The Lollards, — At this period a dark cloud settled
on the Church in the form of religious ])ersecution.
No one had ever yet been capitally punished for
heresy. The Lollards w^ere political malcontents who
took advantage of the reaction set on foot by Wycliffe.

Under cover of his known opinions the Lollards
began a crusade against the payment of tithes and the
evil lives of the clergy, whilst thoy maintained the
doctrine that the " unwoi'thiness of the minister
hindered the efficacy of the sacraments," a doctrine
wdiich, in recent days, had become a favourite one in
the Church of Rome.

The Lollards on this standard could not fail to gather
the populace.

Their popularity increased b}^ their intercourse with
the people, to whom they expounded and preached the
Scriptures out of Wycliffe s translation of the BiblCo

NORMAN PERIOD.

No small part of their preaching was denunciation,
always a popular form of oratory, and especially, they
denounced the mendicant orders of preachers. It was
a time when the luxury, worldliness, and nei^liujence of
the priests and dignitaries of the Church of England
had deeply disgusted the nation. The simplicity of
life and self-denial of the Lollards endeared them to
the people. Yet, when the Lollards shewed themselves
of a mind to uproot altogether the Church of England,
the English nation proved true to the English Church.

Clergy subservient to Rome- — The strength of the
Lollard position was increased by the growing s[)irit
of covetousness displayed by the Popes, and the un-
happy subserviency of the higher clergy of the Church
to papal claims. Another Statute of Proemunire
\ D ^^'"^^ passed with the object of further curtailing
the claims of the Pope. The two Archbishops
opposed this Act, but it had the ready support of the
clergy generally and of the people.

In 1398 A.D. >;et another Statute of Prnemunire,

^^^ the strongest defensive measure of the middle

ages against Rome, was passed, and emphatically

proclaimed the independence of the Church of Englatid.

Lollards lose popularity. — Side by side with those
reiterated defences of the liberty of the Church from
Roman usurpation, there was growing up a national
enmity to the levelling views of the Lollards.

Lollard preaching had fast degenerated into a dis-
semination of unheard of heresies. The people
Y^ were so exasperated that in 1401 A.D., the Parlia-
ment took upon itself the odious task of execu-
tioner of the ecclesiastically condemned. Then the
Lollards became openly disloyal and rebellious and
their leader Sir John Oldcastle was executed, not
for holding heretical views on^y, but for gathering a
body of followers who seem to have had in view the
dethroning of the King. ....,«,.«;

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- Higher clergy unpopular. — The ecclesiastical digni-
taries of tlie Church were becoming yearly more the
object of scoin and dislike to a large section of English
churchmen. The popular hatred had much cause
in the worldliness, luxury and pride of the clergy.
This personal hatred induced a growing revolt against
the corrupt doctrines and practices which had been
engrafted by the influence of Papal power upon the
Church of England. The Simony of the Bishops had
become unbearable.

Struggle between England and the Pope. — The exac-
tions of the Popes had never been recognized by legal
enactments ; they had grown up illegally and become
recognized practices, yet having no sanction in the law
of the State or Church of England.

The boldest assumptions were now put forth by the
reigning Pope. Against this usurpation the Parliament
of England set itself determinately to uphold the in-
dependence of the Church of England. In the struggle
which ensued, the Bi.shops were found on the side of
the Pope ; the clergy generally were with the people.

During the reigns of Henry IV., Henry V., Henry
VI., and Edward IV., the popular discontent was
smouldering, unable yet to effect the longed-for reform.

Tn 1452 A.D. for the first time in the history of
^^^'^ the Church of England, Kemp, Archbishop of
Canterbury became a Roman Prelate in the Church
of England.

DATES.

A.D.

Edward II 1307

Edward III , 1327

!Stati;te of Provisors 1351

Statute of Prannuuire 1353

Kichard II 1377

John VVyoliffe died 1384

Sir Jolm Oldcastle executed 1401

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REFORMATION PERIOD.

al digni-
more the
f English
-h cause
e clergy.
It against
had been
upon the
^hops had

riie exac-
1 by legal
id become
in the law

i-th by the
Parliament
Id the in-
e struggle^
,he side of
e people.
v., Henry
tent was
■or reform.
history of
bishop of
[he Church

A.D.

1307
1327
1351
1353
1377
1384
1401

CHAPTER XII.

REFORMATION PERIOD.
HENRY VIII.

(1509 A..D. to 1547 A.D., 36 years.)

Reform called for — Causes of R,eformation — Thomas Wolsey — State
of the Clergy — Royal Supremacy — Martin Luther — Tyndale's Bible
— Quarrel of King and Pope — Catharine of Arragon — Fall of
Wolsey.

The Reformation Period. — In the reign of Henry
AD ^m-' ^^^® need of a complete reformation in the
Church of England became more and more evi-
dent.

The continuous struorsjle ever since the Norman
Ccmquest betweon the foreign usurpation and the
independence of the Church of England was drawing
to an issue, and the climax was reached during the
reign of Henry VIII., which began 1509 A.D.

Reform called for. — In 1414 A.D., the University of
Oxford had made a strong representation to the late
King for a reform of the clergy, pointing out the ter-
rible abuses which abounded, as, for instance, the
admission of unqualified persons, relatives of prelates,
and young boys, into the priesthood, and the luxury,
inefficiency, and immorality of the clergy generally.

Causes of the Reformation — The immediate cause of
the Reformation was not the doctrinal errors of the
day, but the immoral lives of the clergy, and the
simoniacal transactions which abounded in the Church
of England.

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THE BRITISH CHURCH.

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The long pent up fire of discontent broke forth in the
reign of Henry VIIT., and culminated in the reforma-
tion of the Church of England and her complete free-
dom from the fetters of Rome, by which she had been
so often bound since the days of the Norman Conquest.

Thomas Wolsey, Dean of Lincoln became Bishop
Y^ of Lincoln in 1514 A.D. and Archbishop of York
a few months later.

Being as Archbishop of York inferior in precedence
to the Primate, Archbishop of Canterbury, Wolsey,
who was a man of great ambition, obtained from the
Pope, the office of Cardinal, which at that time gave
precedence to its bearer even over the Primate of "
England. Henceforth lie is known in history as
Cardinal vVolsey. He was made by the King Chancel-
lor of England, by the Pope his legate. He held in
his own person the sees of York, Durham, and Tournay ;
also he farmed the sees of Bath, Worcester, and Here-
ford, the respective Bishops of these being foreigners.
He also held the benefice of the rich Abbey of St.
Albans. His income from these sources was immense,
and his magnificence and display as a Cardinal were in
due proportion to his income. His extravagance made
him great at court, but rendered him odious to the
country gentry. Yet he was one of the greatest
statesmen that England has ever had; and as a church-
man, he was, orthodox, enlightened, zealous, and truly
liberal.

In contemplating the character of Cardinal Wolsey
it must not be forgotten that he lived in an age when
the state of the clergy was most corrupt and disordered.

State of the Clergy. — The Dean of S. Paul preaching
before Convocation in 1512 A.D, declares the clergy to-
be proud, dissipated, covetous, and concludes in these
words : " We are now troubled with heretics, but their
heresies are not so pestilent and pernicious to us and

REFORMATION PERIOD.

the people, as the naughty lives of the priests;" he
declares the remedy for the fast increasing alienation
of the people to be, not new laws, but reformation and
observance of existing laws which are sufficient against
all ecclesiastical evils, such as ordaining unfit persons,
abuse of patronage, non-residence by bishops and
priests — simony. The clergy, by unwisely resisting the
needful reforms, alienated both the people and the
barons.

The King's Supremacy over the Church. — Parliament
appealed to the King, and in exchange for his aid
against the clergy, granted him a definite supremacy
over the Church, which he gladly used for the further-
ance of his own aims and ambitions.

Martin Luther — In 1517 A.D. Martin Luther
AD ^^PP^^i'^d upon the continent as an opponent of
the abuses of the Papal system, and with him
were allied Melancthon and others. Luther was an
Augustine friar. He dared to declare that Ihe Papal
claims were false and unchristian. Henry VIIL
entered into controversy with Luther and thus adver-
tised the latter so that his writings were widely read
over England, and his views taken up enthusiastically
by a great number of those who were looking for
reform. The Lutherans afterwards became a sect
which was established on the continent.

Henry took totally opposite views doctrinally from
those of Luther, and appeared against him in print.
For this book, Henry received from the Pope the title
of Defender of the Faith.

TyndaU's Bible— In 1526 A.D., William Tyndall

J^^^ translated into English and printed in Holland

in full the New Testament Scriptures. An

attempt was made to keep these copies out of England,

and to destroy any that had found their way into the

kingdom, but it proved futile.

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The reformation of the Church of England as far as
thorou.'h repudiation of the additions in doctrine of
the Roman system, was fairly on foot long before the
final rupture between Henry VIII. and the Pope.

Quarrel of King and Pope — The cause of the quarrel
between Henry and the Bishop of Rome was not
religions but personal. If the Pope had allowed the
King to have his own way, Henry would have taken
no part in the reform movement. The Church owes
nothim,^ to Henry as a willing instrument in her victory.

Catharine of Arragon — Henr^ had married Catharine
of Arragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of
Spain. She had been first married to Arthur, an elder
son of the late King. Arthur had died of consumption
a few months after his marriage. Henry VII. had
resolve! that Catharine should marry his vounsfer son,
afterwards Henry VIII. Such a proceeding was against
all Church law. The Church has always taught that
Holy Scripture forbids mairiage of a woman with her
deceased husband's brother. A Pope was found in
Julian II. who, for political reasons, granted a dispen-
sation permitting the match. The marriage accordingly

was performed between Catharine and Henry, in
\^S^ 1509 A.D. By Catharine, Henry VIII. had a

daughter, Mary, afterwards Queen of England.

It can hardly be doubted that Henry's anxiety for
a divorce, for which he shortly sought, from Catharine
arose from an unhol}' love which he had conceived for
Anne of Boleign. He sought an excuse for divorce in
the declaration, that his marriage with his dead bro-
ther's wife began to prey upon his conscience as a
guilty act ; also, he said he feared that Mary's legiti-
macy might be questioned, and the succession to the
throne imperilled.

The Pope would not grant the desired divorce. The
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge v.'ere appealed

REFORMATION PERIOD. 53

to for an opinion on the validity of the marriage. They
answered : " To marry a deceased brother's wife is
against the Divine law."

The matter was narrowed down to this issue :

1st. Had the marriage between Arthur and Catharine
been actually consummated ? This, the Queen always
denied.

2nd. Had the Pope power of dispensation from a
Divine law ?

The Pope refused to declare the marriage with
Henry null.

The King's answer was a proclamation forbidding
anv intercourse between his subjects, and the Court
of Rome.

Fall ofWolsey. — Wolsey who had reached the summit
of wealth and pcwer, fell in the zenith of his magnifi-
cence, a victim to the jealousies of his cotemporaries,
and the desertion of the master whom he had served
faithfully and without scruple.

He was saved from confinement to the tower and

probable execution by attainder. Death, caused by

the shock of his fall fr(*m court favour, overtook

AD ^^^^ ^^ Leicester Abbey on his way to prison in

London 1530 a.d.

DATES.

A.D.

Henry VIII 1509

University call for Reform 1 414

Thomas Wolsey, Bishop 1514

Martin Luther 1517

Tyndall's Bible 1526

Fall of Wolsey 1530

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THE BRITISH CHURCH.

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CHAPTER XIII.

HENRY VIII. (Continued.)

Cranmer — Queen Catharine Divorce — Papal tyranny exchanged for
royal oppression — Supremacy of the Crown — Church owes her
Reformation to the clergy — Separation between England and
Rome — Miles Coverdale's Bible— Act of Succession — Spoliation by
the Crown— Monasteries robbed — The Six Articles.

1484

A.D.

Cranmer. — Thomas Cranmer was born in Notts,
in A.D. 1484. He was educated at Cambridge,
where he remained a Fellow for many years.
He was quite accidentally brought to the notice of
Royalty. He was visiting at Waltham Abbey when
the King passed a night in the neighbourhood and
two of his courtiers were billeted in the house Avhcre
Cranmer was.

At supper Cranmer gave his views of the burning-
topic of the day — The Divorce Case. His views were
reported to Henry who declared " this fellow has got
the right sow by the ear." Cranmer was taken to
court, and immediately received into the King's service.

He wrote a treatise against the legality of the mar-
riage of Henry with Catharine, in favour of divorce
from this union and of marriage with Anne Boleyn.
At the same time he engaged to enlist the Universities
in the cause of the King-Pope quarrel. He rose to a
high place of court favour. In 1532 A.D., he was
if^ consecrated to the Primacy and hereafter became
the pliant tool of Henry VIII.

Queen Catharine Divorce. — A court was now set up in
England with Archbishop Cranmer as its president to
try the case of Catharine. The case which had been

REFORMATION PERIOD.

divorce

before the Papal court was transferred to the English,
and there short work was made of the claims of tlie
unhappy Queen. The divorce was declared, and wdthin
a week was followed by the Archbishop's authoritative
declaration at Lambeth of the validity of the marriage
of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn.

Papal Tyranny exchanged for Royal Oppression. — Parlia-
ment now, in its eagerness to shake otl' the encroach-
ments of the Papacy, was subservient to the King.
The unhappy Church of England had exchanged a
Pope at Rome for a Pope upon the throne of England.
Convocation appealed to the King for permission to be
consulted before acts were passed which affected the
liberty of the clergy and the income of the Church ;
but the appeal w^as unheard by the triple alliance of
King, Cranmer, and Commons.

The w^hole clergy of the land, their liberties and
their goods were laid, by a conviction obtained from
obsequious judges, at the mercy of the King.

Supremacy of the Crown. — Henry, advised by Crum-
well, would accept no 'iomposition from the clergy
short of their unqualified acknowledgment of his claim
as the Supreme Head of the Church.

So extreme was the situation, their wdiole revenues
and their liberty being at stake, that with the utmost
reluctance, convocation gave in and made the required
acknowledgment. The title as at last accorded by the
clergy was limited to tlie form " the singular Protector,
the only and supreme lord, and as far as is permitted
by the law of Christ, even the supreme head." In
consideration of this title with the above limitation,
and of a money consideration of a hundred thousand
pounds, the king was pleased to pardon the clergy.

That the sovereign is supreme in all causes no one
ever doubted, but the power of the Crown to order
the Church in matters of doctrine, discipline, and
a^itual, the clergy have never allowed.

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THK inUTlSH CHURCH.

In submitting so far to the supremacy of the Crown ^
the clergy entirely repudiated the supremacy of
Y^ the Pope. The convocation declared on March
31, 1534, A.D., " That the Roman Bishop has no
greater jurisdiction given to him by God in this King-
dom than any other foreign bishop." The convocation
of York declared in the same year "that the Roman
Bishop has not in the Holy Scriptures any greater
jurisdiction in the Kingdom of England than any other
foreign bishop."

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge passed
similar declarations. All the abbots, with their monks,
signed similar instruments renouncing the Pope's su-
premacy. All this was done freely, before Lhe Parlia-
ment had begun to bestow upon Henry the supremacy
over the Church which he afterwards claimed.

The spirituality, i. e., the clergy of the Church of
England formally renounced the supremacy of the Pope
belbre any law existed, which made it penal to uphol.l
this Papal claim.

Church owes her Reformation to the Clergy. — The
Church of England really owcn her reforn.ation to the
clergy. They paid for it, both by restraint upon their
liberty, and by immense drafts upon their means.

No one else suffered pecuniarily. C>n the contrary,
the Crown, and hundreds of families were enriched by
the spoliation of the monasteries, abbeys, and hospitals,
which followed the renunciation of the Pope's authority,
and the acknowledgment of the supremacy of the
Crown.

It cannot be too carefully impressed upon the readers
of Church history ; that by the acknowledgment of the
royal supiomacy, and petition to the Crown to with-
hold the iovenues heretofore paid to Rome, the
clergy of the Church of England acting through their

REFORMATION PERIOD.

constitutional channels the Houses of Convocation,
deliberately revolted against the usurped supremacy
of the Bisiiop of Rome.

Henry cared nothing abouo reformation, or tho
Church's independence of a foreign Papal rule. Ho
proposed an abandonment of the measures for final
separation from Rome, if the Pope would agree to tho
rehearing of his divorce case.

Separation between England and Rome complete. — This
ba.so proposal of the King failed, and the separation
between England and the Church of Rome wa?y
^^^ completely effected. In 1584 A.D. an Act for-
bidding the nomination by the Pope of any Bishop
in England was passed. The same Act provided, that,
when a See fell vacant, the King should send to the
dean and chapter of such vacant See a " leave to elect'*
(conge delire). A "letter missive" was to accompany
the license thus sent, in which was contained the name
of the person to be elected, and the chapter was bound
to elect the person so named, under a penalty. Thus
arose the strange custom still in force in England. It
has been modified now, by the limitations of our con-
stitutional monarchy, whereby the nomination of the
Bishop is practically in the hands of the premier of
the day who represents the people. Should the day
ever come when the premier is no longer a churchman^
the injustice of such an election will undoubtedly bring-
about a change in the law. Act followed Act to in-
crease the power of the King over the Church, and
Henry took full advantage of tlie keen desire of the
Church to be free from foreign tyranny, for the building,
up of his own system of absolute monarchism.

The first fruits and tenths which had before been
paid to the Pope were now seized by the King. The
new supremacy of the King was a great price to pay
for freedom from Rome.

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.58

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

Miles Coverdale's Bible — In 1535 A.D., Dr. Miles
AD Coverdale, in connection with Br. Tyndale, com-
pleted the new translation of the Bible.

This work was not a direct translation from the
original, but a version fiom the existing Latin and
German translations into English. The book was put
under the patronage of the King, and received a limited
circulation.

At the same time the first reformed primer or book
of private levotions was issued and authorized, and
had an extensive circulation.

Act of Succession. — In 1534 A.D. the first Act of Suc-
cession was passed, which settled the succession of the
Crown in the children of Queen Anne, to the exclusion
of the princess Mary, daughter of Queen Catharine.

Spoliation by the Crown — The difficulties of the
Church of England were now transferred from the
claim of papal supremacy to that of the King, who
arrogated to himself a personal authority, not confined
to the admistration of the Church's spiritual laws, but
laying olaim to supreme authority, to supersede all
Church law, and to govern the Church according to his
autocratic will.

Monasteries raided — In 1536 A.D. beoan the
AD §'^*®^^ ^'^^^ ^y ^^^® Crown upon the monasteries,
abbeys, and chantries (a chantry was an endow-
ment for provision of priests to say masses for the
departed), and hospitals.

Three visitations, between 1536 A.D. and 1539 A.D.,
were held to intimidate the abbots, monks, and priests
into resignation of their endowments, and the great Act
of Spoliation was successfully accomplished.

The reason alleged for the suppression of the monas-
teries was not on the ground of false doctrine, but of
immorality of life on the part of their inmates.

REFORMATION PERIOD.

The investigations shewed that in the greater nunibei
of cases the charges were utterly unfounded. The sins
of the few were visited upon the many. The real
reasons for the spoliation may be found in the greed of
the Crown for the revenues, rather than in any desire
for the reformation of the monasteries.

Crumwell, the chief minister and adviser of the
King, was an unscrupulous agent, and his moral status
may be gathered from the proved charge tliat he was
the recipient of enormous bribes from the religious
houses as well as from those who hoped to gain by
their destruction.

The Acts of Suppression, though technically legal,
were morally unjust, and were a criminal interference
with the rights of personal private property.

The first great sweep of the smaller houses netted a
revenue to the Crown of nearly £50,000. The unjust
Act caused a rebellion in the North, for alleged par-
ticipation in which twelve abbots were hung, drawn,
and quartered.

The total income thus alienated to the Crown has
been estimated at £131,000, but it is quite clear that
this sum must be far below the actual amount. Out
of this, as a sop to conscience, six new bishoprics were
founded, and some charitable institutions were endowed,
the whole forming but a small fraction of the amount
raised by the suppression.

Had the suppression of the monasteries been carried
out with anything like a fair consideration of the vested
life interests of the then generation, posterity might
have regarded the act as on the whole equitable, and
for the benefit of the Church and land. Henry VFII.
cannot be credited with any desire for reformation of
the Church except ^lo far as the movement gave ecclesi-
astical matters into the power of the royal supremacy,
and secured to his own use the property and lands of
the monasteries and religious houses.

rf|||.T5Ss:

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

• ■•! H.

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The English Reformation is not a Revolution. — The re-
formation of the Church of England was remarkable
for its avoidance of revolutionary measures ; it pro-
gressed with great caution and deliberation, being
preserved from undue haste by the constant pressure
of a strong opposition at home and abroad.

The Six Articles. — In 1539 A.D., there wa»
AD P^'^^^d the Six Articles Bill which practically
made the King absolute monarch with uncon-
trolled power over the lives, liberties, and religion of
his subjects. It was usually called the " whip with
six strings." The six laws enacted were : 1. The
doctrine of transubstantiation. 2. Communion in one
kind. 3. The celibacy of ail priests. 4. All vows of
chastity must be observed. 5. Private masses were
commanded. 6. Auricular confession was enforced.
Penalties for violation of these authorized articles
ranged from fine and imprisonment to death.

Bishops Latimer and Shaxton resigned their sees^
but Cran mer continued in his office.

Crumwell, who had been Henry's tool and chief in-
strument in the suppression of the monasteries, and
the now hated marriage with Anne of Cleves, the suc-
cessor of the divorced Anne of Boleyne, was no longer
necessary to the King, so his attainder and execution
were speedily brought about.

Archbishop Cranmer, and the Convocation of Can-
terbury were found sycophant enough to bring in a
bill for the divorce ol the King from Anne of Cleves,
and on the day of Crumweii's execution 1540
^^ A.D., six months after his marriage with Anne, the
King took his fourth wife Catherine Howard,
niece of the Duke of Norfolk.

Many who denied the King's supremacy, were ex-
ecuted, and the capricious cruelty of the King hunted
very many on all sorts of pleas to death.

REFORMATIOxV PERIOD.

Further Spoliation of the Church. — In 1545 a.d.
'^ Acts of Parliament conferred on the King all the
properties of colleges, free chapels, chantries, lio>>-
pitals, fraternities, and manors. Many of these pro-
perties were ceded by Cranmer and other Bishops.

Nevei* did more obsequious Parliaments or Bishops
sit in England.

The Church paid a great price for reformation in its
exchange of the supremacy of the Pope for that of the
licentious tyrant who occiipied the throne of England.

Yet the reformation of the Church of England pro-
ceeded cautiously but surely.

The English Book of Common Pi'ayer was in slow
formation, and the Bible was becoming more and more
the book of the people.

In 1.547 Henry VIII. died, and was succeeded by his
son Edward a, boy of 10 }ears of age.

DATES.

Cranmer born ,

Cranmer Archbishop

Convocation repudiates Papal supremacy
Separation between l^^nghiiul and Home

Miles Coverdale's Bible , .

Monasteries spoiled

The Six Articles

Crumwell executed

Further spoliation of the Church

Henry VIII. died

A.D.

1484

1532

1534

.... 1535
1536-1539

1539

1540

1545

1547

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•1

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

itfll

CHAPTER XIV.

EDWARD VI.

(1547 A. D.— 1553 A.D.— 6 Years.)

Edward, King — The Regency— The Book of Common Prayer —
Fiuther Spoliation of the Church — The Ordinal — Other Acts
affecting the Church — Foreign influence — DifiFerenccs between the
Prayer Books of 1549 and 1552 — Insurrections in Devon and
Norfolk — Foreign Protestants in England — Revision of the Prayer
Book — The ^cond Prayer Book — Death of Edward VI.

Edward VI. ascended the throne in 1547 A.D,
1547 ££g ^.^^ ^ i^Qy^ iQ years of age. A protectorate.
Lord Wriothesley, the Earl of Hertford, and
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canteibury, was appointed.

Tlie reformation of the Church was, in this reign, in
imminent peril of becoming a revolution of all catholic
doctrine.

The in^l aence of the extreme school of Puritanism, as
represacntod b^' the Genevan protestants, was beginning
to be exerted upon the English Church.

Further Spoliation of the Church. — A bill was passed
giving to the young King the proceeds of the sale of
all the chantries, hospitals, and guilds, in order that he
might pay the legacies which had been left by his
father. This was but the beginning of a continuous
spoliation which, under the cloke of reformation, pre-
vailed throughout this reign, so that, at its close, the
parochial clergy were utterly im.poverished.

The Book of Common Prayer — Heretofore the service
books in use had been the offices used in monastic and
religious houses. It was now felt that a service book

REFORMATION PERIOD.

65-

was needed for the use of the people in parish churches
and chapels. A committee of divines, sitting at Wind-
sor, drew up the first Book of Common Prayer, which
was a careful compilation of several service books
already in use in various dioceses, and added to it the
Psalter and a table of lessons to be daily read from
Holy Scriptures.

This book was submitted to Convocation, adopted

therein, and laid before the Houses of Parliament in

1548 and received as the Book of Common Prayer in

^■^' The Church of England in 1549. Hence it is

^^f^ known as the Book of 1549, or of the second year

■ ■ of Edward VI.

This book was distinctly English, being a careful
revision of the old service books of the Church of Eno-
land. By this book there was secured to the Church
of England a safeguard against loss of the Catholic
Faith, and a return to Catholic practice, which had
been almost hidden under Roman errors and additions
to the faith.

Humanly speaking, this Book of Common Prayer
was the saviour of the Church of England, from
Lutheranism and Calvanism as well as from Romanism.

The Ordinal, or order of making and consecrating
bishops, priests, and deacons, was appended to the
Book of Common Prayer.

Other Acts affecting the Church — Among the acts of
this reign, were two closely affecting the Church. The
one was the removal of all existing canons which en-
forced the celibacy of the clergy, and another enforced
the observance of the Lenten season.

Foroign Influence again in the Church. — Under the in-
fluence of the protector who was a very ardent Protes-
tant, care was taken that during his minority Edward
YI. should be constantly brought into contact with thor

'!!f'l'#*

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

#•.111(11,

isiii

r»

I :„,■„!

'"ill

most able of the protestant reformers. These men had
not been content with reformation, but had gone on to
a complete revolution of catholic doctrine, and an entire
destruction of catholic discipline. Whilst in England
the effort, so far successful, had been to reform the
Church of England; on the continent they had already
begun the practice of establishing independent sects,
which they soon named Churches.

Cranmer opened his house and gave his official
invitation to a number of these extreme reformers to
visit England.

The most prominent among those who availed them-
selves of Cranmer's hospitality were John Laski, Peter
Bucer, and Peter Martyr. Laski was permitted to
officiate as the superintendent of the French, Belgian,
Italian, and German Protestants in London. Bucer
was appointed Professor of Theology at Cambridge,
and Peter Martyr was given the same chair at Oxford.

Thus, were introduced into the Universities, not only
the negations of Protestantism, but also that spirit of
division and dissention, which ever since has been
a terrible weight about the neck of the Church of
England.

These men immediately disseminated their new and
peculiar modes of thought and feeling imported from
Continental Protestantism, and whilst they agreed
upon the leading negations of Catholic and Primitive
faith, they taught their pu|)ils the spirit of *' pai'ty,"
by manifesting each in his own place the widest
diversities of religious teaching.

The objects of the Book of Common Prayer were stated
in the preface to be : (1) That the whole realm should
now have but one use in Divine service : (2j that the
rubrical directions should be simpliHed : (3) that the
Psalms should all be repeated in their order instead of
fl, few being said daily and the rest omitted : (4) that

REFORMATION PERIOD.

;)

the lessons should include the whole Bible, or the
greater part thereof, in a continuous course : (5) that
the reading of the chapters should not he interrupted
by anthems, responds, and invitations : (6) that nothing
should be read but " the very pure Word of God, the
Holy Scriptures, or that wliich is evidently founded
upon the same ; and (7) that all should be in the
En<dish ti)nouo.

In the book was contained the cai'efully revised
"Order of Conununion," whieli had bef u published
before the book.

The oi'der of Mornino- and Eveninn- Pra^■('r, put forth
in Englisli in 154!), was the same order of pi'ayer to
which the people had been accustomed iti their Piymer,
" the self-same words in Eiiii'lish which were in Latin,
savins^ a few thniu^s taken out."

The principal variations in the first Prayer Book of
Edward VI. and that whi'.'h we now use are as
follows : —

In the Order of Morning and Evening Prayer :

(1) Matins and Evensong began with the Lord's
Prayer and ended with the third collect.

(2) The address to the Virgin Mary was omitted
which had been retained in litany of Henry's reign, as
also the invocation of the angels and patriarchs.

Ill the Communion office : —

(1). The service began with an Tntroit or Psalm
sung as uiie priest was proceeding to the altar.

(2). The Commandments were not read.

(3). The Prayers differed chiefly in arrangement.

(4). The name of the Blessed Virgin was specially
mentioned in the pi'aise olfered for saints.

(5). The Canon of Consecration included a prayer
for the sanctitication of the Bread and Wine with the
Holy Spirit ar'd the Word.

1
•I-

'*^i

!«■

^'1

.I'k

Ijf'Si"

■4-

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

(6). Tliu words USUI I in administering were only the

first clanse of those now said.

(7). Prayer was oti'erod for the dead.

Though tliis, the Book of Connuon Prayer of 1540,
was well received l)y the country generally, 3^efc
fanatics, Loth on the side of Romanism and of Protest-
antism, were discontented. Amonu: the former insur-
rections m Devonslure and Norfolk occurred which
threatened to hr vory serious. The demands of the
I'iotei's were, that the Latin mass should be restored as
hefoi'e, the law of the Six Articles executed, holy
water and holy bread respected, and other particuhir
grievances redrcssL'd.

'J'he leaders were arrested an J executed, and the
insurrections crushed.

Destruction of the old Church Books — The old service
books were all called in and destroyed.

Foreign Protestants in England. — The influence of tlie
foreigners John Laski, Bucer, and Peter Martyr, who
occupied such important positions in London, Oxford,
and Caml>rido:e, now beuan to be felt at coui't. Add
to these the extreme reformers mch as Hooper, Bishop
of Gloucester, who liad imbibed his extreme Protestant
views at Zurich, and the influence which beu'an to
press upon the court, the cry for a still further refor-
mation and a sweeping revision of the book of 154}),
began to have full sway. Toward the close of 1550
A. I)., a further

Revision of the Book of Common Prayer was
^^^" mooted. The matter was brought before convo-
cation, in the House of the Clergy. The points in
the book to which exception were chiefly taken were :
The retention of so many holy days. The dress and
posture of the minister in public service. The oflice
of the Holy Communion, and particularly the form of
words used in the delivery of the consecrated elements.

REFORMATION I'ERIOD.

The Second Prayer Book — The Lower House of

. , Convocation would not revise, beinu' (luite satis-

fietl with the book of 1549. So a committee of

♦livines, with Archbishop Cranmer at their lien<I, was

appointed, and tlie opinions of Bucer and Martyr were

asked.

The committee was instructed that its work did not
lie in the condemnation of the doctrines of tin; first
book, which was declared " to contain nothing but
what w^as agreeable to the Word of God and tlie j)rimi-
tive Church," but to •' render it fully perfect in all
such places in which it was necessary to be made more
earnest and tit for the stiri'ing up of all Christiaji people
to the true honouring of Almighty God."

The b(K)k, as revised, when, after a long period, it
came from the hands of the committee, bore strongly
the mark of the peculiai* views of the extreme con-
tinental Protestant reformers.

The Second Book was never used, for on the Gth July,
1.553, Edward YI. died, and Mary succeeded to the
throne.

In all further revisions of the Pravei' Book, this book
is ignored, and reference only made to that of 1549.

It is worthy of note that whenever the Church of
England has been left alone, she has kept purity of
doctrine on her standard and peace among her children.
Foreign interference, Papal or Protestant, has done
nothing for her temporal or spiritual prosperity, but
has constantly promoted strife, discord, and erroneous
<loctrine.

DATES.

A.D.

Edward VI '. 1547

First Book of Common Prayer ].')49

.Second Book of Common Praver 1552

Death of Edward VI '. 155.3

' "f lif

THE BRITISH (CHURCH.

fri;

^ I

•••III;

• ' •Hid

'"I'll

CHAPTER XV.

MAIIV.

(l")o.'J A.I), to 1558 .\.i>. — 5 Year.s.)

Mary — I'crsecutioii <»f the Cliurch -Ikeformation ohcckf;cl
Marian Martyrs— Cardinal Pole — Death of the Quten.

Tlu

Mary, dauolitcr of Ht'iiiy VII f., caiiu.' tc» tlie

^^^^f tliioiio in 15').'] A.l). QiiL'on ]\1ary was a (It'tcnuiMcd

siipportLTot" tilt' Papal claims, and Nvuukl will ngly

have iindoni' all the work of reformation which had

been .so far accomplished.

Persecution of the Church. — Archhish* Crannier, the
Archbishop ot York, Bishop Lati iiei', and many pre-
lates, and leadino- ck^r^y, on che charge that they
had excited the people to rebellion, were committt <l to
prison. The real )-eason of their persecution was their
determined defence of the Book of Common Prayei-.

Three hundrcHl clergy were deprived of their cures,
on the o;ruun<l that they were married.

A. leoate, Cardinal Pole, was admitted to En'dand to
re[)resent the Pope.

The Queen was married to Philip of Spain, in
l'--^^ 1554 A.])., and the royal ])air souoht from that
day to bring the Church of England again beneath
the Papal power.

The Reformation temporarily Undone. — All the gains
of the Reformation were temporarily lost. The nation-
ality of the Church of England w^as again obscured,
and amid the cruel s^ enes of the next four years was
generated in the hearts of Englishmen that indelible
hatred of Popery which has remained to this day.

REFORMATION PERIOD.

The persecution of the reformers raged with all the
fury of })igotiy and revenge.

The Queen was vigorously aided and abetted in her
course by lier husband Pliilip.

The Marian Martyrs. — The fires of Sniitlifield were
continually lighted for the martyrdom of Bishops,
))riests, and laymen, and all for firm adherence to the
Hook of Connnon Prayer. During this reign 240 men
and 40 women were burnt at the stake. Cardinal
Pole uncjuestionably 'lid upliold the ])erseeution. Among
the most ]>rineipal suft'ei'ers wei'e Bishops Cranmer,
Ridley, Latimer, and H »oper. Areldjishop Cnmmer,
in his last hours made great amends for the vacillation
and cowardice of his lit<' as the tool oi' the overbearini*'
assumptions of Henry. He suffered his martyrdom
with firmness and constancy.

Altogether it must be admitted that ( ^-anmer, set in
the midst of many and continuous difficulties, was not
an unfaithful son of the Church of ii]ngland.

Every effort was put forth to efface the Reformation.

The bitter auony and trial of the Church of Enoland
ended only with the death of the bloody Queen.

1558 Mary and Cardinal Pole <lied in the same year,
A.i». 1558 A.D.

Providential Preservation of the Church. — We see a
Providential hand in the early death of Edward V^L,
and in the short reign of Mary.

The demise of the former, who came under the com-
plete influence of the extrt'mest Puritan party, saved
the Church of England from complete separation from
all Catholic usage, and from relapse into the baldest
Protestantism. The death of Mary, and at the same
time the cutting off, by a raging pestilence at the end
of her reign, of no less than thirteen Bishops and a
iireat number of clero-y who had been undoim:'' the

jilj

#»'

IBMI

70 THE BRITISH CIIUKCH.

work of the English Rel'ormation, saved the Chiiieh
fioni the resuinptiun of tlic errors and evils attenchmt
upon the niedisuval Papal suprcniae}'.

DA'l'Ks.

A.M.

Mary crowned ICui'.i

Maiy ami IMiilip (tf Spain married ITkM

Martyrdoms of C'rannicf, llidlev, Hooper, and I. atimer IHM

Death of Mary and Cardinal Pole IfifhS

RKFOUMaTIoN I'KI'vloD.

CHAITHR \Vr.

KLIZAliHTII.

(From liloS A.n. to KiOU .\.i>. 45 Vuiirs.)

Ivt'turn of the Mariiiii exiles Title of Siiinxiiie Head of the Churili
abandoned -The Prayer Hook in !.">!> (lonsecration of Areli-
bisliop Parker —Uiflieidties of tlic C'liurih -'I'he Koniani/ing party
— Tlie Konianists secede — The first l)issenters fr(»ni the Cluuvh of
Knglan<l — The Puritans secede — Monianisni and Puritanism — Arch-
hisiiops <irindal and Whitgift — Puritan attenijtt to suf)vert the
lieforniation — Church roljbed l)y the ( 'low n The Church of the
People.

1558

A. 1 >.

Elizabeth, sister ot Marv, w as crowned 1558 a.d.

Return of the Exiles. — Tlie exiles of the Church
of Enulaiid who had been livini- on the Continent
durinii' Mary's reio-n now returned home.

The Puritaidsni which the\ had learned aniono* the
extreme i colesiastieal revolution:' c- on the ('ontinent,
they brous:,dit back to Eni'''i;nd, aii-' its intiuenco has
been baneful to the Cluuxh iVt.ui *"bat day to the pre-
sent time.

Title of Supreme Head of the Church abandoned — The
Queen was a Tudor, despotic and strong willed, and
though she aba.idoned the title of Supreme Head of
the Church which had been claimed by Henry VHI.,
yet she took in its place that of the Supreme Governor
of the Church.

The Prayer Book in 1559 — The Book of Common
1559 Pi-ayer, suppressed during the reign of Marj', was
now restored.

■ \

THK BRITISH CHURCH.

If.

0^4

, t

"'p

It was generally accepted. Out of the 9400 clergy
only about 190 refused to comply with the Act of
Uniformity which accompanied the Prayer Book, and
to use the hook. It was evident that the desire was
general to make the Prayer Book as comprehensive as
possible. On one hand, an alteration was made in the
Rubrics, allowinix a larijfer latitude in the use of the
Church ornaments and vestments. On the other hand,
the sentence employed at the communion of the people
in the Holy Eucharist, was now composed of both
sentences as used respcjctively in the book of 1549 and
in that of 1;552. The reason assigned for this was,
" lest, under the colour of rejecting a carnal, they
might be thought also to deny such a real Presence as
was defended in the writings of the ancient Fathers.''

Consecration of Archbishop Parker. — Only one of the
Bishops who had been a})pointed during tlie short and
bloody reign of Mary conformed to the Act of Uniformity
which accompauieil the Book of Common Prayer.

Matthew Parker, Dean of Lincoln, was selected

^^^ for Primate. He was consecrated in 1559 A.D. by

four Bishops, who had been exiled by Mary, and

returned to E.ngland on herdeatli. They were Barlow

of Bath and Wells, Scory of Chichester, Coverdale of

Exeter, and Hodgkins of Bedford.

About forty-four years after this consecration, the
Romanists in England invented a story, known as the
Nag's Head Fable, which asserted that Parker and the
other Bishops were consecrated in a hasty and ludicrous
manner at a tavern in Fleet street, London. Of course
such a consecration is in itself extremely improbable,
and there is no fact of English history l)etter supported
by evidence than the consecration above named of
Archbishop Parker at the hands of four Bishops. All
fair minded modern Romanist writers as D]\ Lingard,
the great Roman Catholic historian reject tiie fable
with scorn.

KEFORMATION I'ERIOD.

Within the year nine more Bishops were duly con-
secrated for tlie vacant Sees.

Difficulties of the Church. — The Cliurch was beset witli
<lifficulties. Very many parishes were without clergy.
The Queen ruthlessly seized, whenever she could, the
revenues of the Church, and ern'iched her c<nn*tiers with
the spoil.

The Romanizing Pai-ty — The Bishops and Clerc^y of
Papal sympathies ^A^ere kindly treated. If any were
punished, it was bt^ausc they obstinately uphehl the
Papal usurpation, which the Queen ami Parliament, fis
well as the Convocation of the Clergy, were determiued
strenuously to oppose. In all England, only 1 81) (ylergy,
including 14 Bishops, refused to conform to the use of
the reformed f'l'ayer Book.

For the first ten years of Elizabeth's reign, men of
all minds generally att'inded their Parish Churches
without doubt or scruple.

The Romanists secede from the Church of England- — An
attempt was made to tolerate the Papal party, and to
])ermit them to have some of the Parishes and Churches.
This was opposed on the following ground : — It would
have been to create and perpetuate a Papal schism in
the Church. The Queen said : " There is no new faith
]^ropagated in England, no religion set up, but that
which was commanded by our Saviour, preached by
the Primitive Church, and unanimously approved by
the Fathers of the best antiquity."

When England refused to allow a Papal schism
within her Church, the Pope, Pius V., took matters in
his hand. He put forth a bull of excommunication
against the Queen of England. The Romanists of
England now left the Parish Chuiches, received

1570

A.I).

priests sent over secretly from the Continent, and
formed in 1570 A.D.,

.ffi,(-rW»^

"UliTin^i*™"^**''*** "*' "^ '^"'

f. ;,
»' If

t' ■

oi ■

Phi 11

<;■

THE BRITISH CHURCH

The first Dissenters from the Church of England, or,
as they were .soon called, The Roman Catholic Sect.

The Puritans Secede. — About twenty years later
^ ^^ the Pnritiins began to estalilish a separate sect, in
1573 A.D., under what was known as Presbyterian
Government.

Romanism and Puritanism. — 'J'lie Puritans of the
CJeneva school, on one side, and Romanists on tho other
bid fair to tear the Church in pieces between them.
The foi'uier would rend the Church of Knglan*!, not on
a (j[uestion of false doctrine, but upon the wearing of a
decent and ancient jxarment in her ministrations. It is
fair to say that this chihlishness of the P^no'lish Puritans
vvas not endorsed by their l)rethren abroad, Knox:
(Scothind), I)eza (Geneva), and Bullinger (Zuiich).
The Romanists desired a retiu-n to the Supremacy of
the Pope.

In l.")75 A.D. Archbishop Parker died. He was a
. , thorouo-h o-oino- " Church of Enoland" man, firmly
opposed both to Romanism and to Puritanism.

Archbishop Grindal.— Parker was succeeded by Arch-
bishop Grindal. At first favouring the Puritans, lie
soon came to see that any submission of the Church of
England to their narrow rule would h^ fata), jfe
boldly opposed the Queen in her continued
^^^ attempts to despoil the Church. He died A.D.
locS3, and was succeeded by

Archbishop Whitgift. — An uncomproinisiiig oppoheht
of the Puritan faction.

Puritaii attempts to Subvert the Reformation In

A 1) ^^^^ ^•^^- ^^^^ Puritan party in the Parliament

made a tri'eat strut»'9'le for the overthr(nv of the

Book of Common Prayer, and the substitution therefor

of their Book of Discipline, or Directory of Public

Arcli-

ch of
lie

nued

A.l).

mcnt

REFORMATION PEUIOD. 75-

Worship. In fact they desired to sul)stitute their own
ill-constructed Form of Prayer, for the book which
embodied the Forms of Prayer that had been used by
the Church for a thousand years.

Tlu' tinnness of the Queen and the vigor of the
Primate averted this calamity, and a reaction settin<^
in against the violence of the Puritan party, they did
not again become popular until the times of the Stuart
kinu,-s.

The Church robbed by the Crown. — The great robbi-ries
of ( 'hurch ])roperty by Henry VIII. were almost
equalled by the rapacity for Churcli revenues exhibited
by Queen Elizaboth, and her courtiers, so that by the
lattei" part of her reign there were in all Euglan<l
scarcely GOO benetices whose stipend was sufticient to
maintain a clergyman.

The Church of the People — Tliough the Romanists and
the Fui'itans never cea.sed plotting against her, yet the
Chui'cli (,)f England was all along unquestit>nably the
Church of the People.

I) ATMS.

A.I).

T'jizaliotli cnnviiLMl 1 r)5S

Tlie I'liiyin- lldnk in I ')")!)

Consecration of Arclihisliojt rarker lo")()

The Ivoraanists secede from the Chinch or the tir.st Dissentei'S. . 1570

The I'uritaus secede 1573

Arohhishoi) Parker died 1575

Puritan attein[tt to suhverfc tlie Jleforniation I5S4

Klizaheth lied KiO.'i

v I

til

menfc
f the
irefor
*ublic

THE lilllTISH CHURCH.

I 411

p|ii«i

CHAPTER XVII.

JAME8 I.

(A.D. 1603— A. b. 1625.— 22 Years.)

James crowned— Hampton C'ourt Conference — Puritan Non-con-
formists deprived — Komanist Priests banished — Revised Translation
of the Bible — Archbishop xVbbott— Episcopal Erastianism — The
lirst Romanist Bishops in England — Death of James.

1603

James I. came to the throne in A.D. 1G03. He

AD ^'^ily tlechired his faith in the Cluirch of England.

Hamplon Court Conference. — The King treated the
Puritan objectors with courtesV; and granted a con-
ference between the Puritan Divines and the
lb04 gi^ijQpg of the Church at Hampton Court in A.D.
1G04. At this conference the Puritans were as
usual very unreasonable in their demands, and gained
but few of the alterations in the Discipline of the
Church which they sought. A few changes weie made
in the Book of Common Prayer, chiefly explanatory of
the text and the concluding portion, viz.. On the Sacva-
Tiients was added to the Church Catecliism. Thus
amended, the Book of Common Prayer again received
the endorsation of Convocation, King and Parliament,
and conformity to it was required fro^m all ministers
who held l)enelices undei* the Church v>f E^^^land.

In this year Whitgift dif'd, and Bfincroft >>ecam€
Primate.

Puritan Non-Conformists deprived — The greater part
of the Puritan ministers subscribed to the Act of
Conformity and retained their livings, a few, the Puri-
tans claim 300 but Archbishop Bancroft only acknow-

UKFOUMATION PERIOD.

:am«f

part
of

ledges 40, rofnsctl siilKscription to tlie doctrinos amX
iliMiupliiiL' (if the Church, aii(l were deprived of tlieir
livings.

Romanist Priests Banished — Owing to the dis-
A I . covery of a ijlot iioraiiist tlie life of tiie Kintr, a
procUunatioii was issued in 1004 A.D. diiecting the
banishment of Romanist Priests from Enoland.

Revised Translation of the Bible. — Dnrintr the Arch-
bisli()[)rie of Bancroft, tlie heading ])ivin«'s of the day
wt re employed in isstnng the ile vised Translation of

tlie Holy Bihlc; into En<dish. In 1G07 A.D. forty
J-ou' l)ivines began tlu.' work. Four years were spent

on the revision. The excellence of the woi-k of
these Divines is shewn by the fact that though the
translation then made was never " authorized" by Con-
vocation, Parliament, or Crown ; it very soon displaced
all other revisions by reason of its own intrinsic value,
and has been known ever since as the Authorized
Version, or translation.

Archbishop Abbott succeeded Bancroft in the
1611 piiiiiticy in 10 11 A.D. He was a narrow minded

A. 1>. ''

man of stern puritanical views, and little com-
prehension of the great position of the Church of Eng-
land as thi! (^atho)ic and National Church of the land.
Under his unsym|>athetic rule the clergy wxm'c reduced
to a position of v*'ry low esteem. In the Primacy of
this Bishop, after forty years freedom from capital
punishment on account of religious belief the fires of
Smithtield were again lighted, and two men, for issuing
hereticia,l books, were burned at the stakes.

Episcopal ErastianisBB —The Bishops now Ijcgan to
display that unhai)py E/astianism wdiich, for the next
two centuries, bror.ght the episcopal office to the foot
of the Crown, and helped to ])roduce that paralysis of
spiritual life, out of which the Church of England only
awoke in the early part of the nineteenth century.

m^ 1(1
•»'• ..II

^ *i ji i

»* 11 (■

78 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The first Romanist Bishops in England. — In a.d.
^^^ 1023, the King, to secure the o-ood will of Phili)
of Spain, soon relaxed the laws aovtinst Ronian
priests, and the first Roman Bishop since the Reforma-
tion ap])eared in England.

King James died in the bosom of tlie Churcli of
^^^2^ England A.D. l(;2r). Amid all his faults, his over-
weening personal vanity and pedantry, James T.
was a sincere and faithful son of the Church of England.

DATES.

A.I).

King .Janus crowned I fiOIi

Il.unpton C'ourt Conference l()04

I'uritan Non-conformists deprived 1G04

lionianist Priests banished 1004

Ilevised Translation of the I^>il»le 1007

The lirst Jlomanist ]iisho[)s in Hngl.md I(>23

King James died 1 025

iii'

I n

REFORMATION PERKED.

CHAPTKR XVIII.

A. I).

U)04
1G04
I()04
U)()7
1 &2n

r'HARLES T.
(lt;25A.i). to 1(J49 A.U.— 24 Years.)

Charles I. and Henrietta Maria — Land — The l)ivine RiLditof Kin<'s —

Oliver Cromwell — lloforniation nnder Land — Calvinism lepressed

-Erastianism — The Uidioly Allianee — Land, Arehbishop-C^onrtot'

the Star Chamber — liand. the opponent of the Papacy— The Chnrch

of Scotland — The Solemn Leagne and Covenant.

Charles I. ascended the throne of England in
A I) I^-'^ A.D.,a faithful churchman, a man of singular
purity of life amidst the temptations of an im-
moral age, yet his vacillating mind, fre([uently acted
<tn by lieadstrong impulse, combined to move him to a
nolicv which was most disastrous to the Church, and
brought about in the end Ids own martyrdom.

Henrietta Maria — With his marriage to Henrietta
Maria of Fiance, great concessions were made to tlni
Romanists in England. These concessions received
strong opposition from the House of Commons.

Laud became a great fovourite with the King
^"^° and obtained great influence in the ecclesiastical
affairs of the country. He was a staimch up-
holder of the doctrine of the Divine Riii;ht of Kino-s, or
absolutivsm.

The Commons in which was a strong Puritan and
Radical pjirty were greatly exasperated at the mere
mention of such a doctrine, and a friction between the
Commons and tlie Church was begun which ultimately
led to very disastrous results.

The King and Laud now attempted to " tune the

11,'

THK BRITISH CHURCH.

pulpit," tliat is, directions were sent to the Bishops to
instruct their clergy to preach on the necessities of the
Crown that loans niiglit lawfully be obtained from the
people, even thouoh Parliament declined to sanction
them. Thus was the Church, through the unwisdom
and sycophancy of her Prelates, involved'in the trouble
between I'l'ownand Connnons, which ultimately hurled
Chailes from his throne and brouij^ht about his murder.

The Divine Eight of Kings. — Charles was infatuated
with tli(^ idea which seemed inherent in the Stuai't
mind of tlie Divine llightof Kinj^s. Heni'i('tta,his Queen,
was of the same mind. When Pai'lianient refused to
accept this claim to the full extent which Charles
desired, se\eral of the clergy wei'o found to preach it
to its utmost definition, viz., " that the Prince jit7'e
dlvino has power to make laws and to impose taxes,"
or "the King's power was not human but supeihuman,
a partiei[)ation of God's own onuiipotency." The
sycophantic position taken by very many of the clergy,
cncouragi'd by their Bisliops, brought upon them the
anger and aversii^n of people of all degrees. The sup-
port thus given by the clergy to the extreme and
tyi"annical claims of the Crown was the real reason of
the unpopularity of the Church dui-ing this rei^^n. The
])eople did not want Puritanism, but the}' l)ecame
alienated from the Chnrch when her priests were
preaching the right of Kings to tax at their own will
and without consent of the people represented in
Parliament.

Oliver Cromwell appears for the first time in

. . 13ub]ic fis a iifmlter of the House of ( 'ommons, in

16-0 A.I). tie was amon<r the leaders of th&

factiou which was striving to compass the downfall of

Laud, and t ing the (Jhn "ch ol l^'ngland to the |K)si-

iion, in docii.ne ami discipline of the Puritan faction.

The popular feeling against Laud and the clergy

REFORMATION PERIOD.

the
sup-

and
on of

llio
came
were

will
d in

le in

IS, in

the

Hot'

I (osi-

;tion.

ergy

who were ahoiit tlie person of tlio Kino- grew in
intensity. The people were assiiUiously tauglit that
these men, as advisers of the King, were responsible
for his arbitraiy measures ir the matter of taxation.

Reformation in the Church under Laud. — Laud, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, began at the fountain head the
work of reformation. He obtained from the King a
body of instructions for the Bishops. These directed
that in every diocese (1) great care siiould be
exercised in ordaining only tit and proper persons to
the ministry. (2) That the people and children should
everywhere be instructed in the Churches by catechiz-
ing. (3) All preachers" should be proi)erly vested. (4)
Regul lV {ittendance at ]3ivine Services should be
exacted from all. (5) Bishops are not to " mal e
money *' out of their sees. At this time Bishops were
living outside of their dioceses whilst puritan erroi'S
were being sowed broadcast in their sees by itinerant
preachers of all kinds. The instructions which aimed
at the redress of these and other irregularities, raised
a storm of opposition from the persons interested, but
the instructions were good, and helped greatly the
needful reformation in the life and manners of Bishops
and clergy.

Calvinism repressed. — Laud and the King determined
to strongly repress Calvinism. Calvinism comprised
those doctrines of predestination, and election, which
really being a bare fatalism, formed the staple preach-
ing and teaching of the continental reformers who
followed the lead of a violent layman named Joiin
Calvin. Calvinism was a foreign creed, and had no
more right in the garden of the Church of England than
had the Pope of Rome, to cast otf whose usurped
authority the Church of England had spent her best
blood for generations. Many puritanical clergy fled
the country, and took refuge among the foreign Protea-

4 V

♦ Villi

...If

•kali

«i

■ ^
m

f!;

ail

ill!

THE BHITISH CHURCH.

tants. Thtii'o they exliibited towards one another an
intolerance far more extreme than that of wliich they
had complained in England.

Erastianism. — The Church at this time again as in
the reign of Henry VIII. suftered under the extremest
Erastianism. Laud relied upon the influence of the
Crown, to harmonize the conflicting parties, Papist and
Puritan, within the Church. Thus w^as given to the
Crown an authority *a matters of doctrine and dis-
cipline, which has proved ever since a scandal in the
Church.

Under Laud's guidance, the Crown, without advice
of the clergy, ordained a body of canon law for Scotland,
and set foith .in interpretation of the Articles of Religion.
So long as he lived. Laud used the power of the Crow^n
for the benefit of the Church. To this Archbishop we
owe, under God, the preservation of the Church of
England from either extreme of Popery or Puritanism.
But for his firm hand, the great historical Church of
England, autonomous and autocephalous, independent
and itself a patriarchate, would have been cut off and
lost among the wdld sectaries who were endeavoring to
tear her to pieces and to share in the spoil of her dis-
endowment.

Laud firmly and steadily promoted the externals of
a decent and reverent ceremonial in Divine worship.
Such outward observance had its proper effect in the
preservation of a calm, firm, and unchanging hold upon
the ancient doctrines of the Church universal.

The unholy Alliance — In this reign began the unholy
alliance between Papist and Puritan for the subversion
of the Church of England. The alliance for this pur-
pose has been often renewed. Against these two violent
enemies of the Church Laud had to contend. The
reader of the history of this period should be sparing
of his blame when he finds Laud, in his life long struggle

REFORMATION PERIOD.

inholy

lersion

pur-

[iolent

The

)aring

tuggle

to preserve the Church from its multitudinous enemieS;
giving way so far in submission to the intiuenco of the
Crown.

Laud Archbishop. — Laud was advanced to the
^^°^ Primacy in 1636 A.D. Henceforward he ruled
* all ecclesiastical affairs with a strong hand. He
used the power of the Crown to the full in stemming
the tide of disintegration in the Church. His first
fault, which brought upon him the extreme vengeance
of his enemies, was a too vigorous, indeed a violent
treatment of the foreign Christians established in
England. It must, however, be remembered that these
foreigners were constantly intriguing against the
Church. As far as his treatment of the Church of
England is concerned, great abuses need stringent
remedies. The existence of Bishops who drew large
incomes and did not reside in their dioceses, of puritan
lecturers who stumped the country sowing disaffection
and discord ; the " trencher " chaplains or clergy
attached to the families of nobles and wealthy com-
moners, and holding positions little superior to that of
a butler, called for the exercise of a determined will
and firm hand.

To enforce his sentences Laud made use of the
ancient

Court of the Star Chamber. — This Court had origin-
ated in the earliest days of England's Kings, and was
called from the name of an apartment in the King's
palace at "Westminster. It had fallen into disuse
during the reigns of the later Plantagenets, but was
revived for the House of Tudor by Henry VIII.; in
whose reign it was again in full force.

The Judges of this Court were, the Lord Chancellor,
the Treasurer, the Privy Seal, and the President of the
Council, but with these were associated the Members
of the Council and all Peers of the realm who chose to

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THE BRITISH CHURCH.

attend. Under James I. and Charles I. the Bishops
used to sit on the Bench of this Court.

The crinnnal jurisdiction of this Court, which took
cognizance of all misdemeanors, especially of a public
nature, which could not be brought into the regular
Courts, often rendered it odious to the nation at large.

In this reign, as in the former reign of James T., this
Court had become very tyrannical and otiensive as a
means of asserting the Royal Prerogative.

Laud the opponent of the Papacy. — That Laud was in
spirit and practice a Catholic, and in no degree a friend
of the Papal claims, was shewn on very many occasions.

He refused the offered office of a Cardinal, and in
his published conference with the Jesuit Fisher, proved
himself a determined opponent of Roman doctrines, and
Papal usurpation.

LeBas, who wrote a life of Laud, quotes the following
from the Archbishop : " I assure myself that no Prelate
can be so base as to live a Prelate of the Church of
England, and labour to bring in the superstitions of
Rome upon himself and it ; and if any should be so
foul, I do not only leave him to God's judgment, but to
shame also, and severe punishment from the State ;
and in any just way no man's bind shall be more or
sooner against him than mine shall be."

At the same time he strongly and honorably opposed
the bitter and fanatical persecution, on the part of the
Puritans, of the Romr.nists, or as they were then know n
the Papists.

The same spirit of earnest desiro for the reconcilia-
tion of the several parts of a torn and divided Catholic
Church, which has never been absent from the hearts
of all truest English churchmen, was a leading feature
of Laud's life work.

We maj^ blame him for the course he took in th©

lirf

( :'

REFORMATION PERIOD.

cilia-
holic
learts
ature

n the

endeavour to bring about the consummation of unity,
but we may not impugn the purity of his motives.

He was an uncompromising exponent of Catholic
doctrine and ])ractice as opposed to the disintegrating
principles of Protestantism, and the monopolising claims
of Papalism.

The Church of Scotland — A most unfortunate and ill-
advised })roceeding on the part of Charles I., and ids
advisers, now overthrew the careful work of Reforma-
tion in the Church of Scotland, which had been so
wisely conunenced under James I.

As far back as 1G17, James had desired a uniform
Liturgy for Scotland and England but the Scottish
Bishops had equally desired to retain their own.
A Scotch service book had been drawn up by tho
General Assembly in Scotland at Perth in 1G18.

James, deferring to the wishes of the Scotch, haA
postponed any final settlement of the matter.

Charles I., with Laud as his adviser, most impoliti-
cally pressed the English Liturg}/ upon the Scottish
Church.

This began an excitement which culminated in
rebellion, and the Scottish party, exasperated at the
determined obstinacy of the King and Archbishop,
utterl}'' repudiated the right of the sister Church to
force a Liturgy and Book of Common Prayer upon
them and agahist their will.

The Puritan party were not slow to take advantage
of the agitation and at the first reading of the English
Liturgy at Edinboro' Cathedral, a furious riot ensued.

A revolutionary committee was formed in Scotland,
and a document issued, which was called :

The Solemn League and Covenant. — This docu-

^^^^ment published in 1637 A. D., decreed: "The

extirpation of all Church government by Bishops

V. J.

"it

1 1

( r
I

86 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

or any fomi of prelacy " and was sedulously spread
abroad, not only in Scotland, but also in the sister
kingdoms of Ireland and England.

This was the beginning of the Great Rebellion.

DATES.

A.D.

Charles I. King 1625

Laud, Bisliop of London c . . 1626

Oliver Cromwell 162^

Ijt'ud Archbishop 163G

The Solemn League and Covenant 1637

;!|

REFORMATION PERIOD.

A.D.

1625
1626
162^
163G
1637

CHAPTER XIX.

THE GREAT REBELLION.

(1G38 A. ij.— 1649 A. D.)

The Long Parliament — Anti-Church S[)irit — The Remonstrance —
The Bishops fly from the House of Jjords — No new Form of Religion
desired — The Puritans — The King leaves Whitehall— The Root
and Branch Bill — Tlie Westminster Divines— (Quarrels among the
Sects — The Independents in power — The Westminster Confession
of Faith — Persecution of the Clergy — The Scandalous fVmmittee
Profanation and Sacrilege — Archbishop Laud martyred — Charles
I. martyred.

The excitement brought to a crisis in Scotland
X. D ^y ^^^® ill-advised attempts of the King and Arch-
bishop to force the English service book upon tlie
Scotch, and fanned by the sedulous agitation of the
Puritans, spread to the Houses of Parliament, now
strongly infused with Puritanism.

The King dissolved the Parliament. The question
then arose whether the dissolution of Parliament car-
ried with it the dissolution of the Houses of Convo-
cation of the Church. The people were diligently
taught that the Bishops and clergy were in league with
the Crown against the liberties of the nation.

The agitation continued until the sitting of the

Long Parliament — This Parliament was calh-Ml
i^ by the King in 1640 A. D. with a sincere desire
on his part to redress all grievances.
Its first session was entirely occupied in this good
work.

Strafford fell on the scaffold, a victim to the King's
reconciliation with the people.

THE URITISH CHL:RCH.

.1^

There was a party in the country which wouhl
brook notliing sliort of an absohitu superiority of Par-
liament over the Crown.

Witli this ])arty the Puritans cast in their h)t. These
men ilesiicd a com))Iete cliange in th(; constitution of
the Chureli. Refoiination never satisfied tliem. They
sought tlie overtlu-ow of tlie Episcopacy and the sub-
stitution therefor of a Presljyterian form of govern-
ment and Jolin Calvin's system of doctrines.

The country was not puritanical, but the Puritan
Party espoused the cause of the people against the
absolutist views and arbitrary actions of the Crown,
and advisedly turned the aufitation afjainst the clergy,
many of whom, had preached freely the extreme views
of the Divine right of Kings.

Anti-Church Spirit. — The Church and clergy became
the subjects of a violent and fanatical re-action against
all monarchical rule, which culminated in the Great
llel»ellion.

The Puritan and Presbyterian party grew stronger
in the House of Commons. It began openly to attack
the Chtirch. It impeached Archbishop Laud. Stratlord
had fallen, the King having weakly signed his death
warrant. Archbishop Laud was imprisoned in the
Tower, and the King seemed powerless to help him.

His atlvisers gone, Charles seemed utterly incapable
of governinGf ari<dit. At times he would shov/ a most
determined obstinacy, at other times he would be
guilty of the weakest concessions.

His heart was true and]pure, but he had no capacity
as a ruler of men.

The Remonstrance. — The Ho'ise of Commons exasper-
ated by reports of terrible massacres of Protestants in
Ireland, by the influence of the Queen Henrietta over
Charles, and by the King's temporizing policy in Scot-
land, passed a sweeping measure known as The Remon-

UEFOUMATION PERIOD.

dty

er-
iii

stvance. It was a bill of indictment of the policy of
the Government of both Church and State.

It was aimed expressly at the Bishops, and professed
in\ich lo^-alty to the Crown.

Its object undoubtedly was to excite the nation
against the Church,

The Bishops fly from the House of Lords. — The Bishops
were forced for the safety of their lives to flee the
House of Lords, in which their order had sat many
hundreds of years before there was a House of Commons
in England.

The Bishops Imprisoned — The Bishops drew up a
counter-remonstrance, protesting aga nst the deeds done
in their enforced absence. Foi* this they were called
to the bar of the House, and connnitted to the Tower.
In their al>sence in prison the House passed a bill for
taking away their right to vote in the House of Lords,
and the Kinc; in one of his vacillatinix moments acceded
to it.

No New Form of Religion desired- — The country desired
no new form of religion, no new Church government.
The people asked for reform of abuses, and were in
deadly fear of the return of Papal influence ; but many
petitions reached the Houses of Parliament deprecating
any change in the government of the Church. '

The}^ had been exasperated by the policy of the
Crown under advice of Strafford and Laud, but there
was no revolt or desire of revolt from the Church of
their fathers.

The Puritans. — A fanatical Puritan clique, aided by
the Scotch, succeeded at last in organizing an opposition
which temporarily overthrew the Church. The reli-
gious substitutes, which they imposed in place of the
services and offices of the Church, were never well
received nor generallv accepted by the people, only
12

THE HIUTISH CHURCH.

•^g|i

I'f

lasted a few years, and would never have gained any
foothold hut for the weakness of the King and hi*
consequent defeat and murder by the Puritanical
insurgents.

1G42 the King
Parliament

The King leaves Whitehall.— In
Jy* left the palace at Whitehall, and

openly commenced the strife. The Parliamentary
party made an alliance with the Scotch Covenanters,
■who required as a condition of their assistance that
•' Prelacy should be plucked up root and branch ;" that
the Covenant and Presbyterian platform should be
accepted ; and that a Directory of Worship should be
substituted for the Book of Common Prayer.

The Root and Branch Bill, which embodied these
measures, was accordingly passed by the Parliament in
the absence of the Bishops. The bill was not to come
into operation for a year. It is quite evident that the
Houses of Parliament were not sincerely desirous of an
exchange of Episcopal Church government for that of
the Presbyterians ; but to secure the alliance of the
Scotch, they passed the bill, postponing its execution
for a year in order to gain time.

The Westminster Divines. — A Committee of Divines
was summoned to meet at Westminster to consider a
revision oi The Articles of the Church of England.

When the Scotch commission an-ived, it was soon
found that the price c^ Scotch aid, was not less than
the acceptance of the Solemn League and Covenant.
To this the Parliament at length consented. But very
few of the clergy submitted to the Covenant. They
were dispossessed of their preferments, and called
Malignants.

Thousands of Churches lost their parish priests ;:
whose places were filled by sectarian preachers of all
kinds.

UEFORMATION PEHIOD.

soon

than

mant.

very

They

sailed

The Westminster DivinoH who liad been preaching-
tvgainst the scandal of holding pluralities (that is more
than one parish) hy bishops and priests, did not scruple
to seize the lands and endowments of sometimes two
and more of the richest livings.

Ordination became most irregular and many minis-
ters of various sects received their ai)pointnients under
mock ordinations.

Quarrels Among the Sects. — Soon the Independents
began to (|uarrel with the Presbyterians, and the
Erastians decided for no Church government at all.

The Presbyterians prevailed for the time, and a com-
promise was eflected, by which a scheme for provision
of Presbyterian lay elders and deacons was agreed to
for the supply of the parishes and congregations
throughout England.

The Independents in Power. — B}^ 1647 a.d. the

AD Independents had overturned the Presbyterian

schemes, and the country was parcelled out among

various sectarian preachers for the remaining years ot*

the Great Anarchy.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, with a Longer
and a Shorter Catechism had been drawn up by the
A.ssembly of Westminster Divines. These documents
were essentially Calvanistic and Puritanical. But by
1647 the Assembly had ceased to exist.

Persecution of the Clergy. — Through all this anarchy
the clergy of the Church of England had suflerod ter-
ribly.

They were ejected from their parishes, their goods-
were seized, their persons insulted, and they were sub-
jected to every scandalous accusation that envy,
hatred and malice could invent.

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The Scandalous Committee. — Tlie House of Commons
(the Loyalifits were away with tlie King) now
appointe<l a Committee " to facilitate tlie removal of
scandalous ministers." This Connnittee invited accu-
sations against the clergy to he made, and on every
conceivable report, generally the accusa.ti(m of bowing
at the sacred name, or causiuix the coninmnicants to
come uj) to the chancel for the Communion, they were
condemned.

This year a committee was formed called '• The
Committee of Plundered Ministers." This Committee
placed the clergy according to their political hi as.
Those clergy who had been disloyal, .'utid liad been
plundered or ejected by the King's troops, were placed
in the livings which had been rendere<l vacant by the
Parliamentary deprivation of lojal incumbents.

As the Parliamentary cause progressed the loyal
clergy were everywhere displaced by Puritanical minis-
ters, many of whom came from abroad. Two thousand
clergy were ejected in England and Wales alone. Eng-
land was soon tilled with destitute clergy, many were
in prison, in the Bishop's houses which, seized by the
Puritans, were used as gaols for the confinement of
the malignant clergy.

Archbishop Laud and the Bishop of . ath and Wells
were formally impeached. Twelve more Bisho])s were
imprisoned in the Tower, and were only released on
bail to find their houses occupied, and their goods
sequestrated.

Profanation and Sacrilege reigned over the whole land.
The Cathedrals were defaced, and everything within
them, but the bare walls only, was destroyed.

Archbishop Laud Martyred — The Primate having

^^J* been impeached for high treason before the House

of Commons was committed to the Tower. In

1644 A.D. he was brought to trial. The ordinary pro-

RKFOUMATION PEHIOD.

and.
thin

1645

A.I>.

cess of law provt'd unavailinj; to stcure his conviction ;
so a l)ill ofattaintk-r was brourrht into tho House.

The Puritan and Scotcli factions pressed this bill
with all their influence in the Commons ; six iiKinhers
out of the whole House of Lords were at len;j;th ^^'linecl
over, and the hill of attainder was passed. In the
winter of 104") A.D. Arcldtishop Laud, in his
seventy-third year, was beheaded. During' liis
hist days, Puritan hatred would allow the Arch-
Itislu)]), no Chaplain, except accompanietl by two Pres-
byterian Divines. The death of Laud was a murder
by fanatics.

Charles the Mart3rr- — Charles I.mii,dit have saved

'■^^ his own life, and proltably his Crown, had he been

wx^ak enough to sacrifice the Church of England.

Ministered to in Ins last moments V)y the faithful
Juxon, Bishop of London, Charles fell a victim to
Oliver Cromwell, and the Indejiendents, in the height
of their fanatical triumph. Many peers and loyal sub-
jects followed their royal master to the block. The
efiect produced on the country by these many execu-
tions was one of awe and hatred to the ruling powers

Thousands of copies of the King's book, written by
the martyred Charles, were sold in London. Milton,
the Puritan poet, remonstrates pitifully with the people
for their unaccountable attachment to the late Kinyf.
The country was, for the time, cowed. The county
families were ruined ; the head of nearly every house
was slain ; and the widows and heir.'] were assessed in
heavy fines and impositions upon their estates as
" malignants."

The Commonwealth which succeeded was no period
of national prosperity and peace. It was a period of
destruction, suspicion, and tyranny. Cromwell began
by destroying utterly that Parliament for the arrest of
five members of which the late King had lost his crown
and life.

..J

i:3»

94 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The best of the Republican party were now imprisoned
or exiled, just as the King had been seized and executed,
independently of Parliament.

The oppressed sections of the Puritan party never
ceased to hate the usurper as much as the Royalists
did, and the want of their support insured the down-
fall of the Commonwealth the moment the master
hand of Oliver Cromwell was withdrawn.

DATES.

A. D.

The Great Rebellion 10.38

The I^ng Parliament \(i40

Exccntion of Strafford 1641

The King leaves Whitehall 1642

The Clergy Ejected 1642

Archbishop Laud martyred 1645

The Independents and Oliver Cromwell 1647

Charles I. martyred 1649

KKFOHMATION PKUIUI).

CHAPTER XX.

A.D.

1038
1()40
1641
1642
1642
1645
1647
1649

THE COMMONWEALTH.

Oliver Cromwell— The Triers —Attempt to crush the Worship <»f the
Church— Death of Cromwell— The SufTerings of the Clergy.

Oliver Cromwell, at tlie licad of tlie Independents, was
now in power. The Westminster Assembly of Divines,
the executive of Presbyterianism had ceased to exist.
There wa-s, absolutely no Church government in Eng-
land.

The venerable churches of England echoed to

Y^^ the propagation of the wildest heresy, while the

pulpits were occupied by the most outrageous

fanatic that could for the time gain a following for his

opinions.

When Cromwell became virtually monarch, and
non tinally Lord Protector, a religious settlement be-
tween the Presbyterians, Independents, vnd various
Sects, which should tolerate all religic pinions except
Popery and Prelacy was agreed upon.

Some of the clergy, at great risk, continued in secret
the services of the Church. It was a rare thing to
find a priest of the Church of England in a parish
pulpit.

The Triers. — To repress the religious anarchy which
was ruining,' the people spiritually and morally, the
government of Crom -ell, established a court, more
despotic than the St. f Cham' r, called The Triers.
This courf- trie*, a man spiritu ^1 state, and declared
judgraenjupor his "conv rsion." Among the commis-
sioners were men of known immo:ality of life. The

I I

''if:

r^i

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

real object of the Triers was to complocely sift out of
the ranks of the ministers, any episcopal ly ordained
clergy who might yet remain.

Unless the tried could answer to the satisfaction of
their narrow minded and fanatical judges, such ques-
tions as — what aci^uaintance have you with Jesus
Christ ? — at what precise hour were you called by the
Spirit ? — what work of grace has God wrought in 3'our
soul ? and questions still more absurd and insolent,
they were dismissed as " indefinite in their views."

Not content with this means of crushing every ad-
herent of the Church of England, an edict was passed
in 1G55 A.D. forbidding any chaplains, schoolmasters,
ejected or sequestered clergy, either to preach in public
places, or to be kept in private families. In addition
to this, such clergy were forbidden under a heavy
penalty, to administer anywhere the sacraments, or to
marry any person, or to use the Book of Common
Prayer, or any form contained therein. The violation
of any of these articles was visited by imprisonmeT\t.

Cromwell would Cnish the Worship of the Church — To

this end he ordered the use of the most violent measures.

On Christmas day 1G57 a congregation meeting in

^^^ London for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist

was surrounded by Cromwell's armed soldiers, and

carried away prisoners.

Ordinations still Continued — Some of the Bishops
still continued to ordain men in private, so that when
better times should come there might be found a rem-
nant of the priesthood.

Death of Cromwell. — In A. D. 1658 Oliver Crom-
1658 ^gji i\\Q(ii. His son succeeded him, and the Par-
liament was restored for a short time.

General Monk soon rose to the head of affairs, and
re-called the Long Parliament.

REFORMATION PERIOD.

out of
iained

Lion of
I qucs-
Jesus
by tho
n your
isolent,
■s."

iry ad-
passed
1 asters,
L public
ddition

heavy
,s, or to

mmon
olation

ieT\t.

Ih— To

asures.
ngin
iharist
rs, and

fishops
when
rem-

Crom-
le Par-
Is, and

This Parliament sat a short time, and was then dis-
solved. The new House of Commons voted the return
of the Monarchy.

The Suflferings of the Clergy of the Church of England
during the twenty years of anarchy were very great.

Common informers were appointed to get up accu-
sations against the clergy to bring them before the
Puritans' Committee of Scandalous Ministers. This
occupation was called " parson-hunting."

Accusations of superstition and false doctrine, which
meant that the accused conducted Divine worship with
the ritual, and preached from the pulpit the doctrines
of the Church of England- -or of favour to the Royal
cause — were freely brought by these many informers.
It was not required that the accusations should be
proved on oath. The trials were utterly unfair. Many
were arrested and imprisoned, others lied to Europe
and America. The jails were tilled with priests.
Eight thousand clergy were ejected from their livings.
So great were their hardships that less than twenty
years after, on the restoration of Charles II., out of
8,000 clergy ejected only 800 could be found to receive
their own again.

^ DATES.

A.D.

The Commonwealth 1649

Death of Cromwell 1658

f i

1 1

\^\

•I

iia

' ' .11

^ '

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

CHAPTER XXL

CHARLES 11.

(1660 A.D.— 1684 A.D.— 24 years.)

The Restoration — Liberty of Conscience proclaimed — The Presby-
terian Cause lost— The Clergy reinstated — Tolerance — Savoy Con-
ference — Parliament with the Church — Act of Uniformity — The
Prayer Book of 1662— The Established Book— The sealed Books—
The Ministers ejected— Persecution of the Non-Conformists — First
Conventicle Act— Five Mile Act— Test Act— Declaration of Indul-
gence—The S. P. C. K.— Church Restoration— The Universities-
Status of the Clergy.

1660 Charles n. returned to England in A,D. 1660,
' and was welcomed to the throne.

Liberty of Conscience proclaimed — The King promised
liberty of conscience in all matters of religion, so far as
the same did not destroy the peace of the Kingdom.

The Presbjrterian Cause lost.— On the return of the
King it was found that the country, utterly sick of the
late religious anarchy, was prepared to welcome the
full restoration of the Church.

The ministers who had intruded upon the parishes
all over England were gently treated.

The Clergy reinstated — An Act was speedily passed
to reinstate the clergy who survived. Out of the 8,000
that had been cast out of their homes, 800 were found.
On the other hand, those Presbyterian, Independent,

REFORMATION PERIOD.

the

^f the

the

lishes

issed

,000

>und.

lent.

and other ministers who had been regularly appointed
to benefices were allowed to remain, ample time being
given them, until they should declare their adherence
to the restoration of the Liturgy and the Book of
Common Pmyer.

The Nine Bishops who had survived the anarchy were
joyfully restored to their dioceses with the aged and
loyal Juxon at their head as Primate.

New Bishops were appointed to the vacant sees.

The Declaration of Tolerance permitted ministers Tor
the present to use such parts of the Book of Connnon
Pra^'er and practice and ceremonies as they pleased.

The Conference — In 1661 A. D. a Conference
^^ was appointed. It consisted of twelve Bishops
and twelve Presbyterian J)i vines, with nine
supernumeraries on either side.

The Conference opened at Savoy to consider the
reformation of the Liturgy.

The Puritans objected to many things, as the obser-
vance of Lent, of saints' days, the exclupion of extem-
pore prayer, to the use of the apocalypse, to the use of
the word priest, to collects and shoH prayers, to the
surplice, to the cross in baptism, to kneeling at the
Holy Communion.

They, however, failed to shew the necessity for these
alterations in the Prayer Book.

Parliament Sides with the Church. — The new Houses,
which met in 1661, A. D., were full of zeal for the
Church and King.

The Bishops were restored to their seats in the
House of Lords.

The Parliament anticipated the result of the Savoy
Conference, and passed an Act of Uniformity, which
should impose the Book of Common Prayer.

ifi

.1,

i. '

!■!,

Ill'-

^ri

100

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The Prayer Book of 1662,— The convocation of the
clergy, having decided upon the Revision of the Book
of Common Prayer, it was brought down to the Houses
of Parliament, accepted by them in the name of the
people of England, and its obligation enforced by the
Act of Unifor'nity.

The Established Book— The Act of Uniformity
A^. established not the Church but the Book of Com-
mon Prayer which, revised by the Convocation
of the Clergy, was accepted by the Commons, Lords,
and King, and ordered to be used in all the Churches
of England on the 24 August — St. Bartholomew's day
— 16G2. This is the Prayer Book noiu in use.

The Sealed Books. — Printed copies of the revised
Book of Common Prayer were carefully examined by
appointed commissioners, and having been certified by
them as correct, were sealed with the Great Seal of
England. One of these sealed books was deposited in
every Cathedral Church in England, as also in the
courts at Westmin«='ter and in the Tower of London,
where they are preserved to this day.

The Act of Uniformity bour-^ -^.11 ministers to read
publicly the mr>rning and evening prayer of the
amended book. They were also bound to take a
declaration against "The Solemn League and Covenant."

The Ministers Ejected — The Ministers who had been
intruded upon the parishes, and had seized the incum-
bencies, rectories, and parsonages, during the days of
the Anarchy were now given the choice of conformity
to the Act of Uniformity or of ejection from the usurped
positions.

To their honor be it said that from 1500 to 2000 left
their ministry rather than violate their conscience.

REFORMATION PERIOD.

101

read

the

i,ke a

lant."

been

icum-

'^s of

[•mitv

irped

left

It must, however, be remembered that 8000 clergy-
had been driven from their homes during the civil war,
and succeeding Commonwealth ; so that the number of
Puritan Ministers who conformed to the Prayer Book
and Liturgy of the Church of England, and in so doing
denied the oft-asserted principles on which they had
for twenty years been persecuting the harassed clergy,
must have been very great.

The Remnant of the Clergy — Of the 8000 clergy ejected
during the Anarchy only 800 could be found alive
when Crown and Church were restored in England.

The narrow theological views and spirit of the
sectarians of that day, have been transmitted to us
through a long line of the descendants of these con-
forming ministers, men who conformed for personal
benefit, but whose views renained unaltered.

Persecution of the Non -Conformists. — It must be
allowed that the feelings of dislike evoked by the
tyrannous spirit and cruel actions of the Non -Con-
formists when in power during tlie Commonwealth,
the harassing of the clergy, the seizure of pulpits, and
the preaching through England of civil war, amounted
to a hatred which soon found expression in the House
of Commons in some very stringent and, as they appear
to us now, unnecessarily harsh Acts.

The First Conventicle Act. — This made it illegal
^ jj for any persons to gather together for public
exercises of religion in any other manner than
allowed by the Liturgy or practice of the Church of
England. The manner of carrying the Act into effect
was still more objectionable. Even private houses
were sometimes broken into for the detection of con-
venticles.

These men who were now persecuted were receiving
but a mild return of the cruel and vindictive measures

* .X
' -t

Ni.

ii!'

.1^

•102

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

that they had for twenty years been pouring out upon
the clergy and loyal Church party of England.

The temper of the House of Commons at this time
was rendered very bitter by the remembrance of the
immediate past.

Altogether the Non-Conformists did not receive one-
tenth of the persecution that they had measured out
in the day of their triumph.

1665 Acts arainst the Dissenters. — The Five Mile
jgyQ Act of 1665 ; the Conventicle Act of 1670, and
A.D. the Test Act.

By the first, any non-conforming minister was for-
bidden to come within five miles of any borough, town,
or place where he had in the days of the rebellion
exercised his ministry. This was evidently with the
intention of preventing the revival of the schlsmatical
spirit in the place.

The Second Act forbade schlsmatical meetings or con-
venticles. A family might meet and worship accord-
ing to their desire (which w^as more than the other
party had allowed to churchmen) but the presence of
strangers outside the members of the family made the
meeting a conventicle within the meaning of the Act»

The Third Act, which was specially levelled against
the Romanists, allowed no one to hold any public
office, civil or military, unless he had takan the oath of
allegiance and shewed himself a member of the Church
of England, by receiving the Holy Sacrament at some
parish church, and signing a declaration against the
doctrine of Transubstantiation.

Declaration of Indulgence. — In this year the

AD good natured and peace-loving King, desiring to

relieve all his subjects of any religious disabilities

put forth a Declaration of Indulgence, by which he

t upon

is time
of the

ve one-
ed out

5 Mile
'0, and

as for-
i, town,
jbellion
ith the
matical

or con-
,ccord-
other
nee of
,de the
e Act»

igainst
public
)ath of
'hurch
some
ist the

REFORMATION PEKIOJ).

103

the

ilities

Ich he

suspended those penal statutes above mentioned. But
the Commons would not hear of it, and they forced
the King to withdraw his proclamation.

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
Y^ was constituted about this time, as also the Royal
Society, which was the parent of scientific inves-
tigation in England and Europe.

Church Restoration was going on rapidly. The
Cathedrals and most of the old parish churches had
been ruthlessly disfigured and in many cases destroyed
by fire during the Anarchy, and especially whilst the
civil war was raging.

St. Paul's Cathedral rebuilt — This magnificent edifice
had been laid almost in ruins during the Common-
wealth. Its destruction was completed by the Great
Fire of lt366. Under the supervision of the architect
Christopher Wren, the rebuilding was commenced
}^^ in A.D. 1675, and completed in about twenty-five
years.

Religious Writers. — Dr. Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Pear-
son, and Bishop Bull are amongst the most eminent of
religious writers that the Church of England has ever
produced.

The Universities. — At the time of the restoration a
sudden and large demand was made for candidates for
holy orders, to fill the many benefices and curacies
throughout the country.

Few suitable candidates were to be found in the
universities. The demand was so pressing, and in
some cases the Bishops were careless, that very many
most unsuitable men were at this time ordained.

There was also great poverty among the clergy.
Many benefices producing twenty pounds a year were
eagerly sought after.

104 THE BRITISH CHURCH.

The moral and intellectual status of a lar^e number
of the clergy was at a low ebb.

This trouble time gradually remedied, but, never-
theless, the narrow views, handed down by many of
those uneducated men, have remained in the tradi-
tional prejudices of many otherwise sound church fam-
ilies, especially in country places, and proved in the
18th century a source of disaster to the spiritual life-
of the Church.

DATES.

A.D..

The Restoration 166a

The Savoy Conference 1661

The Established Book of Common Prayer 1662

The First Conventicle Act 1664

The Five Mile Act 166&

The Test Act 1670

Declaration of Indulgence 1672'

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge 1673

St. Paul's Cathedral RebuUt 1675.

KKFOKMATION I'KIUoi).

105

lumber

never-
any of
1 tradi-
jh fam»

in the
Lial life

A.D.

1660

1661

1662

1664

1665^

1670

1672

167»

1675.

CHAPTER XXII.

JAMK8 II.

(1685 A. D.— loss A.T).— 4 Ya. .•).)

Jnmcs II. — Imprisoiiint'iit of the Bi.sliops —William of Orange —Flight
of James II. — The diHieult (luestiuu of allegiaiioe.

James II. was a Roinauist.

Since however he could neither ascend nor sit
is '^'^V^'^^ ^^^^' throne of Englan<l, hut hy tlie sanction
of the (.'luu'ch of En<,dan(], lie began his reign hy
many promises to support and defend the Churclj.

A Roman Catholic King and the Church of Enirland
were certain sooner or later to come into collision.

1688

The Imprisonment of the Bishops — The King
A?D° ordered the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience
to be again published in all the churches. The
clergy viewed the document as illegal, and saw in it
a deliberate attempt to put England again under power
of the Bishops of Rome. Archbishop Sancroft refused
to publish the declaration. Seven Bishops combined
to assert that the command of the King was an attempt
to lower the status of the clei-gy of the Church of Eng-
land, in the eyes of the people, and so to advance the
cause of the Romanists.

These Bishops refused to order the publication in
their dioceses, and signed a petition respectfully solicit-
ing the King to withdraw the document. The Bishops
who took this stand were those of Canterbury, S.
14

lOG

THE nillTISII CHURCH.

h ■

I.:r

S^'f

Asaph, Ely, Cliichoster, Bath and Wells, Peterborouf^di,
and Bristol. To them also were add(id as approving
the Bishops of London, Norwich, Gloucester, Salisbury,
Winchester, and Exeter.

The Kinc^ passionately dec'ared that he would enforce
obedience to his mandate. For answer, the Bishops
declined to authorize the publication, and but a very
few of the clergy throughout the land I'ead the docu-
ment in their churches.

The seven Bishops were summoned to Westminster
and committed to the Tower of London.

On June 29th, 1088, they were l)rought before the
High Court, tried and acquitted. The announcement
was received with universal joy by the people. The
Church of England once more proved herself the
church of the people.

William of Orange.— The nation began to turn itself
towards William Prince of Orange, the nephew and
son-in-law of James, as a means of escape from the
evident intention of the King to raise Romanism again
to a place of power in the Kingdom.

The King endeavoured to get the Bishops to commit
themselves to his cause by the publication of a docu-
ment entitled " an Abhorrence of the threacened inva-
sion of William."

Though the Church was not willing, as afterwards
shewn, to cast off allegiance to one king and to give it
to an usurper of the throne of England, yet as their
last hope of protection for the liberties of the nation,
they did look to William, if he could be had as a
Regent.

In this only they saw present hope of foiling the
King's attempt to again fetter England in Roman
bands.

rough,
roving
sbury,

(nforce

Jishops

a very

(iocu-

ninster

ore the
cement
>. The
ielf the

n itself
5W and
om the
again

;ommit
docu-
lI inva-

r wards
give it
their
nation,
d as a

ng the
oman

REFOIOrATION PERIOD. 107

William of Orange landed at Torquay in Devon-
shire, in 1G88, A.D.

Flight of James II.— A month after the landing of tho
Prince, Jamos 11. fled from Wliitehall and from Eng-
land.

The Bishops met the peers and called upon tho
Prince of Orange to procure a free Parliament.

The difficult Question of Allegiance— The Bishops and
clergy were now in much perplexity. James II. was
rightful monarch. He had deserted the throne and
country. William of Orange .seemed to have the call
of the great majority of the nation to take the head
of affairs. Could they, believing in the hereditary
right of the Crown, give their allegiance to William
and Mary, should the nation call them to the throne ?

William was the son of the sister of James II., and
Mary was James II.'s daughter.

The clergy were prepared to acknowledge a Regency
as necessary to the welfare of the nation.

DATES.

A.I>.

James II. crowned 1(J85

Bishops iniprisoned ; Flight of James 1G88

William of Orange lauds 1(JS9

108

THE lUUTISH CUL'UCH.
t

CHArTER XXIII.

Ji*«

WILLIAM AND MAKY-ANNE.

(1689 A.I).— 1714 A. a— 25 Years.)

William III., and Mary 11. — Attempt to silence Couvocation — (^ueeii
Anne — Queen Anne's Bounty — Dr. Sachevercll and High Church —
Death of Queen Anne.

William and Mary. —When William and Mary

Y?, were crowned, eight Bishop.s, and very many of

the clcigy declined to take the oath of allegiance,

or to recognize them as lawful sovereigns of England so

long as James lived, and had not resigned the Crown.

Bishops and Clergy Deprived. — On this account six
Bishops and about 400 clergy were dej)rived. These
were men distinouished for their learninjn" and devotion,
and in the troublous times which ensued, they proved
a very great loss to the Church. Among the deprived
was Eibiiop Ken.

Attempt to Silence Convocation. — William, whoso
religious convictions were decidedly unchurchly, en-
ieavored now by the advice of Tillotson, the Primate,
to govern the Church by Royal Injunctions.

To repress the influence of the clergy convocation
was forbidden to meet, but William had to give
^^ way,, and convocation was called in 1701 a.d. for
the first time in eleven years.

1702 Queen Anne was a thorough and consistent
A.D. churchwoman.

THE EIGHTEENni CENTURY.

109

^hose

en-

nate,

ition
igive
]. for

tent

Queen Anne's Bounty. — Tii 1704 A.D. the Queen
■^'J;^ rcsiLfiuMl the lirst fruits and tentlis of a larijjo

A.M.' *^

nuniht'i' of heiU'fices whicli liad been seized by
ITeiuy VIII., and held for their private use by the
succ(M.'din^' sovereij^^ns.

Tlie fund tlnis restored to the Church was applied
to tlie benefit of the poorer cler<,'y.

Dr. Sacheverell and High Clrarch.— The silence which
had been forceil on tlie clerjj^}'' by the practical dissolu-
tion of convocation, caused much dissatisfaction.

Many sermons were written and published, warning
the coui ry, that by the silencing of Convocation, the
Church of England was endangered.

Among others, Dr. Sacheverell, a Fellow of Magdalene
College, Oxford, preached Ijefore the Lord Mayor and
at the Derljy Assizes, and vigorously attacked the
attempts of present and past governments to silence the
Church.

The sermon was widely read and created much
excitement through the land.

The ministers of the day, determined to have the
bold preacher impeached before the House of Commons,
The accusation brought against him was that his ser-
mon was treasonable.

Dr. Sacheverell was voted guilty of a misdemeanor.

He was therefore suspended from preaching for three
years, and his sermons burnt by the common hangman.

The failure of this act of tyranny was greeted with
joy throughout the country, and every where the
Church was exciting a holy and wise influence upon
the nation.

The term " High Church " began to be generally
applied to those who advocated liberty of the Church
to administer her spiritualities.

110

THE BRITISH CHURCxf.

DeathofQueen Anne— The Queen died a faithful
J'^* daughter of the Church in 1714 A.D. Queen
Elizabeth robbed the Church ; Queen Anne
restored some of the spoils of former sovereigns.

DATES.

A.D.

William and Mary Crowned 1689

Attempt to silence Convocation 1701

Queen Anne Crowned 1702

Queen Anne's Bounty 170-1

Dr. Sacbeverell'a Sermons 1710

A.D.

.. 1689

.. 1701

.. 1702

.. 170-i

,. 1710

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

Ill

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURi^

Convocation Silenced- -Puritanism — The Toleration Act— Scepticism
— Missionary efforts.

.«, . George I. began to reign 1714 A.D.
1714 ^ °

^•^- The clays of martyrdom had passed, for conscien-
tious conviction and courage of opinions, became cold
and feeble.

The principles of the Reformation were however
triamphant. Loyalty to the Church, to the Holy
Scriptures, and to the Crown, became not only safe
but lucrative.

As the standard of personal religion declined, many
men took Holy Orders with less sense of responsibility
and with a keen eye to the obtaining of wealth and
preferment.

Convocation was Silenced by authority of the Cr(nvn.

1718 }3i^hops Atterbury and Dr. Sacheverell were

among the few exceptions to the general tone of

churchmen and clerp

■&.'

Puritanism.— The Puritan party had been broken up,
but Puritanism remained strongly tainting the healthy
life blood of the nation.

The Toleration Act allowed all dissenters liberty ol
worship within licensed meeting houses.

112

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

Scepticism.— Effects of the lethargy within the
01 lurch shews themselves sadly in this century. Scep-
ticism boo-an to permeate society. The press poured
forth sceptical works. A society of English Deists
received Voltaire on his visit to England in 1725, A.D.

Church writers of calibre sufficient to stem the tide
of unbelief were not to the fore, until Bishop Butler
wrote his great work on The Analogy of Religion.

But treatises, however profound in their reasoning,
are not the weapons for the conversion of an irreligi-
ous age.

The language of devotion was rarely heard except
perhaps where set to Handel's music.

Yet in the midst of the indifference to the cause of
religion many of the clergy were exhibiting a gentle
type of holiness which retired and too little aggressive,
yet prevailed to stem the tide of utter ungodliness.

Goldsmith draws a portait of the clergy of the 18th
century in his Vicar of Wakefield, the pastor of his
Deserted Village :

" To relieve the wretched was his pride,
And even his failings leaned to virtue's side.
But in his duty, prompt at every call,
He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all,
And as a y)ird each fond endearment tries.
To tempt its new-tiedged offspring to the skies,
He tried each art, repi'oved each dull delay,
Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way."

Missionary efforts.— In this century the Society for
the Propogation of the Gospel began missionary enter-
prise in the colonial fields of the Bermudas and North
America.

METHODISM.

113

, A.D.

3 tide

CHAPTLR XXV.

18th
his

METHODISM.

Methodism. — John Wesley was born in 1708 A.D., and
lived in the years between the death of William III.
cind the French Revolution, for he died in 1791 a.d.

The population of England was rapidly increasing,
while the rulers of the Church seemed to be taking no
steps to meet the wants of a people who in less than a
century had increased frum five millions to nine millions.
It must be remembered that the State by silencing
convocation had greatly reduced the power of the
Church to act corporately on this or any other behalf
of the spiritual growth of the nation.

The ancient divisions of parishes remained, no
sufficient addition, was or could be made to the statf
of clergy.

The clergy were examples of domestic virtue, living
even, godly lives, but the services of the Church had
become cold and formal, essays rather than sermons
were preached, and a large population, which the clergy
failed to reach, was relapsing into heathendom.

It was the special mission of the Wesleys, and their
followers, to reach and reclaim this heathen population.

The Wesleys were the means of accomplishing two
very important results at the time : a wonderful revival
of personal experimental religion throughout the realm :
and, unhappily, of promoting a schism, which has
weakened the Church, and continues to hamper her
16

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

' m

work in the British Empire, and especially the mission-
ary work abroad.

John Weslev, Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield,

wne the leaders of the movement. All three were
cleigymen ordained in the Church of England. The
VVe:ile3^s repudiated all wish or intention, of separation
from the Church, and strongly and repeatedly, urged
their followers to the same course.

The great object of the Wesleys was, by means of
lay preachers, to reach the dense masses of the rapidly
increasing population, and thus to assist the work of
the Church.

Thousands of people were reached in the open streets
or down in the coal pits of the great colliery districts.

The need of such a revival of personal religion was
proved by the rapidity with which it spread.

The profanity and immorality of the eighteenth cen-
tury were very terrible. Unquestionably the Methodists
wrought a great improvement.

The mobs, whose evil lives the Methodists especially
sought to cure, often attacked them.

Wesley and Whitefield differed on the doctrine of
election, and soon their followers were divided.

John Wesley's power over the Methodist societies
was immense, and irresponsible. His writings became
the standard of theology for the preachers, and in later
life, he was tempted to assume an authority which, in
the vigor of his manhood, he had so often repudiated.
He obtained for one of his lay preacners. Dr. Coke,
ordination to the priesthood from a Greek Bishop,named
Erasmus. He sent Dr. Coke to America, giving him,
his (Wesley's) authority to ordain clergy. For this
aet his brother Charles, who plainly foresaw in the act
the beginning of a great schism, strongly remonstrated
with him.

METHODISM.

115

ission-

tefield,
3 were

. The

iration

, urged

3ans of
-apidly
rork of

streets
stricts.

on was

bh cen-
hodists

leciflly

ine of

)cieties
)ecame
n later
ich, in
diated.
Coke,
named
him,
Dr this
he act
trated

Had John Wesley only waited ten weeks longer he
would have been saved the great inconsistency of his
life.

Bishop Seabury was canonically consecrated for the
United States in 1784* A.D., and other Bishops soon
after followed him.

John Wesley died in his eighty-eighth year.

The amount of good he accomplished in the awaken-
ing of the debased and arousing the indifierent, cannot
be estimated.

Ho himself ever sought to accomplish his life work^
without breach of Church law.

He professed himself to the last a loyal member of
the Church of England and ever sought to prevent an
estrangement of his societies from the Church. He
repudiated dissent in the strongest terms.

At a conference held shortly before his death he
stated :

" 1. That in the course of fifty years, we hail neither premedi-
tatelj' nor willingly varied from the Church in one article of doctrine
or discipline.

" 2. That we are not yet conscious of varying from it in any
point of doctrine.

"3. That we have in a course of years, out of necessity, not
choice, slowly and warily varied in some points of discipline, by
preaching in the fields, by extempore prayer, by employing lay
preachers, by forming and regulating societies, and by holding
yearly conferences. But we did none of these things till we were
convinced that we could no longer omit them, but at the peril of our
Bouls."

The influence of Methodism in and upon the Church
was very great.

It awakened spiritual life, and by its zeal and fervor
among the mnsses put to shame the apathy of many
of the clergy and laity of the 18th century.

' i

116

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

■ 4

His one great mistake was the ordination of Dr.
Coke. From this step issued the " Bisliops " of the
" Episcopal Methodist " body in the United States of
America. The weakness and invalidity of the act
were set forth by Charles Wesley in the couplet :

" How easily now are bishops made,
At man's or woman's whim.
Wesley on Coke his hands hath laid,
But who laid hands on him.

And he adds :

" 'Twas age that made the breach, not he."

The Methodist Secede from the Church. — About the
year 1886 A.D., i.e., 40 years after the death of John
Wesley, the Act of Secession was consummated.

Then for the first time the President and certain
Wesleyan lay preachers assumed the authority of
imposition of hands and ordination of candidates for
the ministry.

The one Great Obstacle to Reunion of the Methodist
.societies, with the Church from which they seceded in
1836 A.D., is the renunciation by the Methodist ministers
of the right to ordain men for the administration of the
Sacraments of the Church of Christ.

Note. — Of Rev. John Wesley an English writer says :

"He was liberal, upright, noble, charitable, and wise : super-
stitious, fond of marvel- mongering, fond of education. He has
never had justice done him as one of the educators of the people.
He was afraid of ignorance, dreaded fanaticism, told his preachers
to stud3% and made them do it.

And this great man, who preached the wide world through
almost, lived till his wide heart was apostolic ; and, having literally
preached under the trees of his youth, he died, his sect covering
England, stretching to America, being found in almost e\rery country
of the civilized world.

And probably this man called more people in England to wake-
fulness and watchfulness than any other man."

DENOMINATIONS.

117

super-
le has

)eople.
taohers

irough
IteraUy
|vering

juntry

wake-

At present (188G) Methodists, as a body, do not
manifest any strong desire to return to the Church, and
their ministers could only do so, by open avowal and
acceptance of the theory of episcopal ordination, and a
doctrine of apostolic succession, which at present they
do not hold.

We may well pray that unity may be valued by
God's people, then minor obstacles will disappear, and
unity will be accomplished.

This the Divine Power alone can accomplish : " He
that believeth will not make haste."

Denominations. — From the examples set by Presby-
teiians, Anabaptists, and Methodists of Secession from
the Church, further divisions have followed.

In 1851 A.D. there were 75 different denominations,
in 1871 there were 117, and in 1881 there were 175,
and in 1882 the number w^as increassd to 186; having
places registered for the performance of Divine worship
in the registrar general's office.

The latest divisions are those of the Salvation Army,
and its oflshoots, the organization of wdiich are due to
" General" Booth, a Methodist preacher.

Results of Division. — The sceptic asks what shall I
believe. English religionism answers in 200 ditiering
voices.

Religious divisions and differences make common
action in the evangelization of the masses, abroad or at
home, impossible.

The jQoral life of the nation is embittered by rivalries
and animosities among religious bodies.

Other ancient Churches of Christendom are afraid to
follow the example of our reformation of the IGth and
I7th centuries, when they see the results of the present
divisions in our English Christianity.

118

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

I *♦» »

' «ttt«

Unity or Reunion is only possible by return to the
body of the Church of England as the historic and
apostolic branch of the Catholic Church in the realm
of England, and among her colonists and descendants.

The Church of England alone maintains all the
doctrines of all the denominations. Each denomination
has separated itself from the Church of England, and
from all other denominations, not by holding, but to
deny some one or more of the doctrines held by the
Catliolic Church, of which the Anglican Church is the
true branch, that always has aid still exists among
English-speaking people.

THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL.

119

to the
ic and
5 realm
dants.

LL the
ination
id, and
but to
by the
I is the
among

CHAPTER XXYI.

THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL.

The Methodist revival which ultimately split from
the Ch reh, has its counterparts in the 19t? century ;
in first tlie Evangelical and afterwards the Catholic
revivals within her fold and on her lines of disci})line
and doctrine.

William Wilberforce occupies a position towards the
Evangelical revival within the Church that John
Wesley did towards the Methodist revival of the ISth
century. As a prime mover in the agitation for tlie
abolition of the slave trade, Wilberforce obtained great
influence in Christian England.

In concert with Simeon, Venn, Grant, and many
others, he inaugurated an unostentatious but no less
sure revival of personal religion among Church people.

To the Evangelical School are due : The abolition of
slavery, the appointment of chaplains to India. The
great Church Missionary Society, and the British and
Foreign Bible Society.

The Catholic Revival.— Following the rise of the
Evangelical school and its fjreat work of the revival
of personal holiness of life, and deep subjectiveness of
faith in Christ, among all classes in the Church, came
another revival.

The corporate character of the Church — the need of
an objective faith, exhibited as well in outward wor-
ship as in inward devotion — of plain outward com-
mission in the valid consecration of the priesthood —

120

THE BlllTISH CHURCH.

of a constant realization of the God-given nature of
the Cliurcli's sacramental system and worship, — these
pcirts of tlie Divine economy of the visible Church of
Clirist on enrth, had been somewhat obscured in the
fervid })reachin<( of experimental religion. It was the
task of the Catholic revival, to shew these truths and
beauties of objective faith and worship in which the
richness of personal religion, had by the will of God,
ever been preserved to His Church.

In 1827 Keble's "Christian Year" was published.
From this time dates a greater value set upon the
Book of Common Prayer, as the truest and richest
conniientary upon the Holy Bible and the highest
expression of the mind of the Church in her deduc-
tions of doctrine from tlie word of God.

Church history began to be more carefully studied,
and so the continuity in the life of the Church from
the close of the Canon of Holy Scripture began to be
known and appreciated by the people.

A great love, shewn in self-sacritice, for the Church
of our lathers, followed.

Churches, fallen into ruin or desecrated by unworthy
service, were restored, and the public worship of the
Church began to be observed more frequently, and
with more reverence and decent solemnity, as befitting
man's homage to the King of kings.

The great Church Societies for the Propagation of
the Gospel and for Promotion of Christian Knowledge
became to a great extent the almoners of the faithful.
Bishops v/ere given to the colonies, and a missionary
zeal towards the heathen at home and abroad enkindled,
such has never been known since apostolic days.

To such men as Keble, and Pusey, and the Oxford
Tractarians of the middle of the nineteenth century, is
largely due that great revival of the Church's life.

mture of
>, — these
hurch of
d in the
was the
ths and
lich the
of God,

blished*
pon tlie

richest
highest

deduc-

itudied,
;h from
n to be

THE CATHOLIC KEVIVAL. ]21

■which has brought her back out of the deadncss and
in.h lerenee of the e.ghtec.tl, century to be a.^ain as

P^-ioT , r", ;?■' AV "".^ *.'"-'^"='' ^''« Keforma o"
i'eiiocl, iiuluod tlie Church of the People.

In the twenty-five years from 18G0 to 1885 the
members of the Church of Bngland have in Kii land
contributed by voluntary otfjl-ings, in.lepende tly f

missions; four millions to charitable institutions two
millions to clergy charity, and the balance to theVu' ^!
tion of new and the restoration of old churches a ,d
parsonage houses.

hurch

tvorthy
of the
y, and
jfitting

tion of
tvledge
ithful.
ionary
indled.

)xford

^ly, is

s Jife,

122

TFIK liUITISH CIIUHCH.

<'!

'A'

*.l

•I

nil!

CHAPTKR XX VI I.

The Establishment— The Church of England not cstaMished by Law
— An Act establishing the Presbyterian Kirk in Scotland — Tho
Church older than tlie State— Magna Charta— The House of
Coniinons— Act of Uniformity — The Creation of the Church by
the State a Myth.

The Establishment— The relatiorjsliip between the
Church of KngUind and the State is much misunder-
stood.

The Church of England ^not Established by Law.— The
Church of Enj^dand was not created by the State.
There is no Act of Parliament or Statute which estab-
lishes the Cluirch of England. There are statu ces
wliich on the one hand control the Church of England
and on the other hand, secure rights which have
always existed, to the Church.

The Church holds a position of influence which is as
great as if it Avere by law established ; but she has
reached this status by reason of her venerable age and
long history, and not by legal enactment of the State.

Act Establishing the Presbyterian Kirk of Scotland.—

The only Act establishing a church in Great Britain is
the Act of the Parliament of Scotland of 15G0, A.D.,
which abolished by statute the ancient Church of Scot-
land and established in place thereof the Presbyterian
Kirk of Scotland.

The Church Older than the State.— The Church of
EuLdand is older by a thousand years than the State
or' England.

WHAT IS THE CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT.

123

il by L.aw
md— The

^c)USo of
liurch by

en the
sunder-

w.-The
J State.
1 cstab-
statuces
nglaii'i
I have

ch is as

he has

[lire and

State.

>tland.—
itain is
0, A.D.,

)1' Scot-
yterian

urch of
le State

In consenii«'nce of her long life, the Church of Eng-
land enters into all the social and into many of the
legal conditions of England, and has niucli property.

Never estahlished by an Act of Parliament, she has
been from the commencement of the State of England
controlled l)y statute law ; just as any corporation,
religious or secular, in proportion to its influence and
wealth, needs, and is subject to the control of the peo-
ple lepresented in the State.

Thei'e have been all alonf' the historv of Eni^land
acts which have regulated Church matters, but no
statute ever formallv established the Church.

The State has legislated more for the Church than
for any nonconformist or dissenting religious body,
simply because Church life was interwoven with the
life of England, long before any of the other existing
reli<nous bodies had seen the liorht.

The State cannot allow a Wealthy and influential body
to grow up ill her midst without exercising some
legislative control over it. An independent " imperium
in imperio" has ever been regarded as a dangji- to any
State. Many acts have been passed restraining the
Church. No act has found place in the statutes of
England, granting her any other privilege, but that of
liberty of existing rights and possessions.

No statute gave to Bishops the privilege of crowning
sovereigns, or sitting in parliament, or acting as Judgijs,
kc.

They held these positions in early days, on the same
ground as the men who now occupy them. These
posts of influence were the natural outcome of superior
education, wealth, and personal influence, which were
recognized by the people.

No " unholy alliance," no " formal union" was ever
consummated between the Church and the State.

S.it-.-T°i vmfitin— mitoMw

1 ^

'i i

': ) !

;i '.

1 1 T

■ i' 't

; j

124f

THE mUTISH CHURCH.

The close connection of Church and State in England
is the result of natural relationship, springing from the
fact that the life of Church and State has been co-
temporary, and not from any statutory enactments.

Parishes are of Church, and not of civil origin.

The Church, not the State, founded the parishes.
Individual churchmen endowed the parishes, and then
the State used the ecclesiastical boundaries as the local
boundaries on which she based her civil laws and
regulations.

The only benefits secured to the Church by the State
have been similar to those which the State has ever
granted to corporations or individuals, namely, the
protection, under certain restrictions and conditions of
private and personal property.

Up to the time of the Norman conquest there was
no Parliament for England, only a number of legislative
councils attached to each separate kingdom within
England.

Prior to the 11th century, England had been only a
collection of kingdoms more or less independent, some-
times at peace, but more often at war with one another*

Magna Charta in the 13th century did no more than
undertake to respect the existing rights and properties,
it granted none to the Church.

The Honse of Commons began in the reign of Henry
III. (1265 A.i>.) Before that time Barons, Bishops, and
Abbots formvid the national council.

The Church and the State continued to grow side by
side. There was one worship and one faith. The
Ch :rch was rich, by private endowment. The greater
part of the Church's endowments were made from
private benefactions, during the thousand years preced-
ing the House of Commons.

WHAT IS THE CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT.

125

England
roui the
jeen co-
cnts.

111.

)arishes.
Qd then
he local
ws and

be State
las ever
ely, the
tions of

lere was

^islative

within

H only a
, some-
mother.

>re than
>perties,

Henry

3ps, and

side l»y
The
greater
e from
preced-

In the reign of Edward I. the State, which was
represented by Crown, Lords, Bishops, and Commons,
passed a Statute of Mortmain to check the receipt by
the Church of more land by private endowment of a
certain form. Did Henry VIII. become head of the
Church and so establish the Church ? He claimed the
title ; the Church never gave her consent to the title.
It was an unsurped title. But what did it amount to ?
*' In case the Bishops be negligent it is the Christian
Prince's office to see them do their duty."

The principle of State control is, that any corporation,
ecclesiastical or civil, must obtain from the State
.authority, to enforce discipline or to hold or to grant
property.

No corporation may assemble and legislate as a cor-
poration, with any hope of protection from the State
in its rights, without authority from the State so to
assemble and legislate.

The Act of Uniformity and other Acts which define
the course of the Church, were initiated by the Church
herself, and application being made to the State, received
the legal sanction of the Crown, the Lords, and the
Commons.

The trust deeds of a dissenting chapel are secured
under the same kind of State establishment as are the
churches of the Church of England. Every Statute
affecting the Church either restrains her liberty in some
direction or exacts some duty from her.

What is spoken of as disestablishment can only be
the repeal of some or all suc'ii statutes. The repeal of
all statutory enactments relating to the Church of
England would make Convocation more independent of
the Crown, and would remove the appointment of the
Bishops from the mediate election of the people, through

( >

126

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

their appointed representative, the prime minister of
the day, to immediate popular election.

Thus, the statutes which regulate the Church, have
not given her existence, and State Establishment, in
THE Sense of State Creation of the Church of
England, is a Myth.

fl '

CHURCH ENDOWMENT.

12^

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Disendowment — The Endowments of the Church of England —
Tithes — Church Property always harassed — Queen Anne's Bounty
— The Ecclesiastical Commissioners — Statistics.

Disendowment.— The Church can be disendowed.

The State has the same power to deal with the pro-
perty of the Church as with that of any corporation or
individual. For the just exercise of that power the
State is responsible to God.

The confiscations of Church property which have
been made in the past, and which may be repeated in
the future, are lawful, but it does not follow that they
either have been or will be just.

In Ireland, the Church has lately been disendowed.

The same process may be applied to the Church of
England or to any religious corporation in England.

The Endowments of the Church of England were not
vacated by the State.

The early settlement of Christianity among the
British, was effected by travelling priests or mission-
aries, who were under the general superintendence and
control of the Bishops. Gradually rich men founded
chapels and endowed them.

The Church endowments have grown like every-
thing else in England, and have increased bit by bit.

Church property in England does not belong to any
corporation known as the " Church of England," but

m'*f

I <■•■„

■^!i '

fi >

128

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

is the property of the several churches, parishes, or
dioceses.

The churches in each diocese oi* parish, hold property
which has been acquired at different periods, dating
from the first preaching of Christianity until now.

Grants of land have been made from time to time
as free gifts by individual owners of land. Church
lands were therefore voluntary gifts.

Tithes were paid to the Church long before any law
secured them. They were a voluntary payment. In
the reign of Edward I., six hundred years after tithes
had thus been paid for the support of religion (for
there was only one religion in England until 1500 years
after Christ); the State was called upon by the Church
to secure to her the possession of her property. These
voluntary legacies were thenceforth secured by legal
enactment — just as the State now gives legal title and
security to ownership of property which has been
occupied for a term of 3'ears.

Tithes, originally a tenth part of the produce of land
were in their origin, like the landed possessions of the
Church, due to the voluntary munificence of Church-
men.

Church Property always harassed. — With one excep-
tion in Queen Anne's reign the Crown and the State
for a thousand years, constantly pillaged the Church.
For example, Henry V. 1414 A.D. seized the revenues
of many religious houses, when war broke out between
England and France Henry VIII. in 1535 A.D. seized
the revenues of some, and in 1537 A.D. and 1540 A.D.
the property of all the religious houses. With a small
portion of the money thus pillaged, that is, of the
Church's own property, he founded six new Bishoprics,
the balance, which was by far the greater part, went
into the King's treasury, or was given to such private

CHURCH ENDOWMENT.

129

been

individuals as had been useful in securing the passagre
of his bills through the Houses of Parliament.

Edward VI. in 1547 A.D. seized the chantry lands,
and endowed with the proceeds thereof certain grammar
schools throughout the country. It has been estimated
that the property thus taken from the Church at the
time of the Reformation would yield about four mil-
lion pounds a year at present values.

The only State grant ever made to the Church was
one of one million pounds voted by Parliament at the
beginning of the nineteenth century, for the erection
of fifty new Churches for over-populated districts,
with which, however, only twelve new parishes were
endowed.

Queen Anne's Bounty.— This would appear at first sight
as a grant from the State, but it was only an act of
restitution. Before the Reformation, taxes of " first
fruits" on 4,700 livings and of "tenths" on 5,000
livings, had been paid for some time to the Pope of
Rome. These, Henry VIII. diverted to his own use.
They amounted to about £14,000 a year. They were
retained by successive sovereigns until Queen Anne,
who in 1705, restored them to the Church, by whom
they had been paid all along.

The fund thus created was called the Queen Anne's
Bounty ; and was henceforward used on the augmen-
tation of small livings, and in the erection of parson-
age houses.

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were established in
A.D., 1836. Church lands, in many cases, were not
well managed. Application was made to Parliament,
and a bill was passed appointing commissioners to con-
trol these lands, and to pay out the revenues therefrom,
thus divided: Fixed sums— to certain bishops and

130

THE BEITISH CHURCH.

>fi

!:i

(1, ■

chapters, to whom the land belonged, and the surplus
to be devoted to the general uses of the Church.

With the money thus saved new parishes have been
formed and endowed ; but it should be borne in mind
that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners simply administer
certain Church property, just as the Court of Chancery
may be called upon by private individuals to admin-
ister certain private lands.

STATISTICS.

The annual value of actual property of the Church of England
amounts to about Fotir Million pounds, made up as follows :

Tithes and Eents voluntarily given to the Church of
England by charitable persons before the Reforma-
tion, about £1,950,000

Tithes and Rents, and Interest on Moneys voluntarily
given to the Church of England since the Reformation,
about 2,250,000

£4,200,00a
The State takes for taxes, etc . . 700,00a

£3,500,000

The average stipend of the clergy paid from these sources, was in
1883, A.D., £182.

The private gifts of the members of the Church of England, inde-
pendent of the above, now amounts to five and a half millions
annually.

Out of the four millions of Tithe Rent, etc., one million goes inta
the pockets of laymen and a few schools and cottages.

The Tithe is not a tax levied by the State for the maintenance of
the Church. It is a lien upon certain land made on behalf of certain
persons, who in consideration thereof must perform certain duties ;.
and the owner of the title of lands, clerk or layman, has generally
an older and clearer title to this Tithe Rent, than the landowner
has to the property.

IMPORTANT DATES.

A.D.

First Cbristians in Britain ? 65

Witnesses to the British Church : J ustin Martyr 114

Irenueus 140

Tertulliau 181

S. Albau the Martyr 303

Koman persecution ended 310

Councils ; Aries 314

Nicoea 325

Sardica 347

Eimini .... 359

S. Chrysostom 3()7

S. Patrick 387

Homau armies leave Britain 410

Conversion of Scotland 412

Conversion of Ireland 432

S. Augustine lands in Kent . . 597

S. Paul's, London, and S. Peter's, Westminister 004

The Heptarchy converted to Christianity 054

Saxon kingdoms confederated C64

Theodore, Archbishop 668

Bede, the historian - 681

Sees of Leicester, Lichfield, Worcester, and Hereford 690

Invasion by the Danes 793

Alfred the Great 871

Danes converted 878

Canute 1017

Haidicanute 1035

Edward the Confessor 1041

Slave traffic suppressed 1061

Harold chosen King 1065

William 1 1066

Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury 1070

Ecclesiastical Provinces of Canterbury and York 1072

Clerical Celibacy enacted 1076

Ser^'ice books compiled 1087

W^illiam II 1087

Anselm, Archbishop 1093

First appeal to Kome 1095

Henry L — Beauclerc 1 100

Clerical Celibacy — Canons 1104

Death of Anselm 1109

Roman Legate resisted 1115

Church subjected to the Pope 1 126

See of Carlisle founded 1133^

132

IMPORTANT DATES.

Stephen >; 1 1 35

Henry II 1154

Thomas k Becket, Archbishop 1 162

Murder of the Archbishop 1 1 70

Kichard 1 1189

John 1 199

The Interdict 1208

Magna Charta 1215

Henry III 1216

The Dominicans 1216

The Franciscans 1225

Rome first taxes England 1226

Robert Grossetfite, Archbishop of Canterbury 1235

Robert GrossetOte, Bishop of Lincoln 1237

•Church pillaged by Pope and Crown 1265

The first House of Commons 1265

Westminister Abbey Church completed 1269

Edward 1 1272

Alienation of Clergy from the Crown 1283

Church Revenues taken by the Crown 1294

Statutes of Provisors and Proemunire 1307

Edward II 1307

Edward III 1327

Statute of Provisors 1351

Statute of Proemunire 1353

Richard II 1377

John Wyclifife, died 1384

Sir John Oldcastle, executed 1401

University calls for reform 1414

Henry VIII 1509

Thomas Wolsey, Bishop 1514

Martin Luther 1517

Tyndall's Bible 1526

Fall of Wolsey 1530

Cranmer, Archbishop 1532

Convocation repudiates the Papal supremacy 1534

Separation between England and Rome 1534

Miles Coverdale's Bible 1535

Monasteries spoiled 1536

The six articles 1539

Orumwell executed 1540

Further spoliation of the Church 1546

Edward VI 1547

First Book of Common Prayer 1549

Second Book of Common Prayer 1552

Mary, Queen 1553

Mary and Philip of Spain married 1554

Martyrdoms of Cranmer, Ridley, Hooper, and Latimer 1554

Deaths of Mary and Cardinal Pole 1558

Elizabeth 1558

The Prayer Book in 1559

IMPORTANT DATES.

133

1135
1154
li()2
1170
1189
1199
1208
1215
1216
1216
1225
1226
1235
1237
1265
1265
1269
1272
1283
1294
1307
1307
1327
1351
1353
1377
1384
1401
1414
1509
1514
1517
1526
1530
1532
1534
1534
1535
1536
1539
1540
1545
1547
1549
1552
1553
1554
1554
1558
1558
1559

Consecration of Archbishop Parker 1559

Romanists secede from the Church, or the first Dissenters .... 1570

Puritans secede from the Church 1573

Death of Archbishop Parker 1575

Puritan attempt to subvert the Reformation 1584

James I I(i03

Hampton Court Conference 1604

Puritan non-conformists deprived 1()04

Romanist priests banished 1604

Revised translation of the Bible 1607

First Romanist Bishops in England •. .... 1623

Charles I 1625

Land, Bishop of London 1626

Oliver Cromwell 1629

Laud, Archbishop 1636

The Solemn League and Covenant 1637

The Great Rebellion 1638

The Long Parliament 1640

Execution of Stratford 1641

The King leaves Whitehall 1642

The Clergy ejected . . 1642

Archbishop Laud martyred 1645

The Independents and Oliver Cromwell 1647

Charles 1., martyred 1649

The Commonwealth 1649

Death of Cromwell 1658

Charles II. , and the Restoration 1660

The Savoy Conference 1661

The established Book of Common Prayer 1662

The first Conventicle Act 1664

The Five Mile Act 1665

The Test Act 1670

Declaration of Indulgence 1672

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge 1673

S. Paul's Cathedral rebuilt 1675

James II 1685

Bishops imprisoned — Flight of the King 1688

William of Orange and Mary 1689

Attempts to silence Convocation 1701

Queen Anne 1702

John Wesley, born 1703

Queen Anne's Bounty 1704

Dr, Sacheverell and High Church 1710

George I 1714

Convocation silenced 1718

Seabury, the first Bishop for America 1784

John Wesley, died 1791

Keble's " Christian year " 1827

The Methodists secede from the Church 1836

The Evangelical revival about 1830

The Catholic revival about 1840

INDEX.

Abbott, Archbishop of Canterbury ^''^'^'

Acts against Dissenters 77

Act, Conventicle .".'.' i02

Act of Succession ^^*

Act of Suppression 58

Act, the Toleration 59

Act of Uniformity Ill

Adda, Saint ..... '.'/, 99, 100, 125

Aclelphius, Bishop of 'Caerleon ^ 1

Aldan, Saint 2

Alban, Saint, the Martyr H

Alcuin 2

Alfred the Great .. ., 15

Alfred's Ijiws and Schools 1<*

Allegiance, the question of 17

Alliance, the Unholy 107

Angles and Saxons 82

Anne, Queen G

Anselm " " ". 108

Antoninus, Emperor 22, 25

Appeal to Rome the first 2

Archbishop of Canterbury -iJiselm ^'^

Abbott...* .■.'.■; ;;;..;;; 22

Honoriu'j | ^

Justus " ' jJJ

Kemp ... ^0

T * AO

i^aurentuis . . ' ' * ' «

Melitus .... ,2

" <« rpi , 10

Archbishop of York-Paulinus 14

Athelstane 10

Augustinians, the ...'.. 17

Augustine, Saint 40

Aurelius, Emperor . 8

Avignon, the Pope at .' 2

Bede

Bertha, Queen ..........."

Betti, Saint .

Birenius, Bishop of Dorchester

Bishops and Clergy depriveil ...'.'.".'".".'.■ .'

((

(«

108

13G

INDEX.

!J;;i

I wi

( I

*ii

.31

I (

Bishops iKiniHlied tlio f Ioilsu of Lords 87

Bisliop Hull 103

Bisl
BiHh

lopH iinpriHoiR-d 8t>, 105

Puarson 103

flop 1 uarson

Book of Coimuon I'rayer 01, G'2, 04 (i8

•♦ •' (If)-**)) 71

" " (KiO-J) 100

" " (aealed) 100

British Church drivtiii into the West 7

British Church independent of Kome 12

Calvinism repressed 81

Canute 18

Cardinal Pole 68

Carlisle, statute of 41

See of 27

Carmelites 40

Catharine of Arragon 52, 54

Catholic revival, the 11^

Cedda, Saint 11

Celibate and married Clergy . . 17

Celibacy, clerical 21

*' attempts to enforce 25

Charles I 79, 93

Charles II 98

Christopher Wren ^ , 103

Christianity, first in Britain I

Ohrysostom, Saint 4

Church of Ireland 12

Church of England older than the State 13, 122

Church of Scotland 85

Church (the) of the people 75

Church restoration 103

Church Kevenues pillaged (Edward VI.) 41

Clergy restored 101

Clergy, state of (Henry VIII.) 50

Colombo, Saint 5

Couunonwealth, the 95

Confession of Faith (Westminister) 91

Constantine, Emperor 3

Conventicle (the) Act 101

Conversion of the Saxons 11

Convocation, attempt to silence 108

* ' silenced Ill

Council of Aries 3

** Niccea 3

•♦ Sardica 4

*' Rimini 4

*' Cloveshoe 14

89,

87
103
105
103
04 (58
. 71
. 100
. 100
7
. 12

.. 81
.. 18
.. 68
.. 41
.. 27
.. 40
.52, 54
. . im
.. 11
.. 17
... 21
... 25
.79, 93
... 98
... 103
... 1
... 4
. .. 12
13, 122
... 85
... 75
... 103
... 41
... 101
... 50
... 5
... 95
... 91
... 3
... 101
. 11
, 108
. Ill
3
. 3
4
4
.. 14

INDEX.

i;i7

Court of the Star ChnnilKjr 83

Craiinu'r 54, tiO, 09

CrumwL'U 00

Danes, Bettlemeiit and conversion of

Decius, I'hnperor

Decretals, the falao

Defender of the b\iith

Denominations, Modern I

Di8en(h)Winent I

Dissentern, the first

Diocletian, Eniixiror

Diurna, Saint

Divine right of Kinga

Division, result of 1

Dominicans

Dunstan, Saint :

Hi
2

:ii

■27

74
•>

SO
17

Easter, time of keeping 12

Eborius, Iii.shop of York 3

Ecclesiastical Commissioners 129

Edward I 89

Edward II . 43

Edward III r6

Edward IV -^8

Edward v'^I C2

Edward the Confessor IS

Elizal>eth 71

Emperor Constantino 3

Emperors, the pui-secuting 2

Endowments— The Churcdi spoiled. 61, 62, 73, 75, 12S, 129

•* Monasteries raided 58

♦' of the Church l.S, 127

Erastianism 29, 77, ^2

Establishment, the 122

Ethelbert, King of Kent 7

Ethelred 18

Evangelical Revival, the 119

Finan, Saint 11

First fruits and tenths seized r)7

Franciscans .'15

Friars 44

George I .. Ill

Goths and Vandals

Gregory, Saint 8

Grindall, Archbishop 74

Hampton Court Conference 76

Hardicanute 18

138

INDEX.

|i ■

Harold 19

Henry I 25

Henry II 28

Henry III 35

Henry IV 48

Henry V 48

Henry VI 48

Henry VIII 49

not head of the Church 125

Henrietta Maria 79

Heptarchy, the 7

" conversion of 7, 11

Hereford See created 14

High Church 109

Honorius, Emperor 6

Honorius, Archbishop 10

Hooper, Bishop fi9

House of Commons 124

Immorality in the Church 28

Independents in power 91

Indulgence, declaration of 102

Innocent III 32

Interdict, the .... 32

Intruding Ministers ejected 100

Invasion of the Danes 10

lona, mission house of 5

Ireland, governed by Clergy and Nobles 6

Ireland, preaching in 4

James I 76

James II 105

Jeremy Taylor 1 03

John, King 32

John Laski M

Justin Martyr 4

Justus, Bishop of Rochester 9

Ju3tu8, Archbishop 10

Juxon, Bishop of London 93

Kemp, Archbishop ... 43

King's (the) book 93

King Charles leaves Whitehall 90

Lanf ranc. Archbishop 20

Latimer 69

Laud, Archbishop 79, 8:^, 81, 92

Laurentius, Archbishop Ir

Leicester, See created 14

Liberty of Englishmen secured by the Clergy 23

INDEX.

131)

. 19
. 25
. 28
. 35
. 48
. 48
. 48
. 49
. 125
. 79

7
.7, 11
. 14
. 109

6
. 10
. 69
. 124

. 28
. 91
. 102
. 32
. 32
. 100
If)
5
6
4

105

103

43
93
90

20
69

81, 92

14
23

Lindhart, Queen Bertha's chaplain 8

Llindisfarne destroyed 16

Lollards, the , 4fi, 47

Long Parliament (the) 87

Magna Charta 33,

Martin Luther

Martyrdoms of S. Peter and S. Paul

Martyrs, the Marian 69,

Mary, Queen

Maximian, Emperor

Melancthon

Melitus, Bishop of London

Melitus, Archbishop

Methodism 1

Methodists secede from the Church ]

Miles Coverdale's Bible

Milton

Missionary efforts in 18th century 1

Monastic rule established

Monasteiies raided by William I

Monck, General

124

•>

'A
9
10
13
16
58
93
12
17
20
96

Nag's head fable

Nioene Creed, the 3

Niuias, Saint ... 5

Nonconformists persecu c^l 101

Norman Architecture 21

Odo, Archbishop 17

Oliver Cromwell 80, 95

Oldcastle, Sir John 47

Ordinal, the 62

Palladius 4

Papal claims, resistance to 2ii, 3(5, 37, 40, 41 , 45

'• a primate provided 39

•• ascendancy of 43

effectual 27

exchanged for royal supremacy 55

first legate in England 36

increase of 29, 31

opposed by Laud 84

Peter's pence 41

pillaging the Church 37

quarrel with Henry VIII 52

Romanizing party (Elizabeth) 72

separation oetween England and Home n7

struggle of the Clergy 48

subserviency ot Clergy 47

%t
ft

M
• t
I*
It
II

140

INDEX.

I 1

Pcapal claims subjection of Church 31

** submission of Jolin 33

" taxing of England 36

Parish priests banished 90

Parker, Archbishop 72

Parliament of Oxford 37

Parliament sides with the Church 99

Patrick, Saint 4

Patronage of the Kings 13

Paulinns, Archbishop 10

Persecutions, the ten 2

Persecution of the Clergy 91

Peter Bucer 64

Peter Martyr 64

Philip, Queen Mary's husband 69

Picts and Scots 6

Popes, the two 45

Presbyterian Kirk, established by law 122

Presbyterianism, rise of 88

Profanation and Sacrilege (Commonwealth) 92

Protestants 64, 66

Provisors and Proemunire 41 , 43, 47

Puritanism 62, 74, 111

Puritan nonconformists deprived 76

Puritans secede from the Church 74

Puritans, the Scotch 89

Quarrels among the Sects 91

Quarrel between William and k Becket 23

Queen Anne 108

Queen Anne's Bounty 109, 129

Ralph Flambard 22

Rebellion, the great 87

Reformation, causes of 49

*' foreign influences ^>3

not a revolution CO

puritan attempts to subvert 74

the work of the Clergy 55

" under Laud 81

Religious writers 103

Remonstrance, the 89

Restitutus, Bishop of London , 3

Richard 1 31

Richard II ^5

Ridley : 69

Robert Grossetete, Archbishop 36

Roman Armies leave Britain 6

Roman Prelate, the first in England 48

Romanism 74

INDEX.

141

122

.64, 66

, 43, 47

74, 111

... 76

.. 74

.. 89

91
23
lOS
09, 129

87
49
63
GO
74
55
81
103
80

3
31
^5
69
36

6
48
74

Uomanists secede from the Church 73

Komanist Priests banished 77

Romauist Bishop, the first in England 78

Rome, a schism in 45

Root and Branch Bill 90

Sacheverel, Dr 109

S. Alban the Martyr 2

S. Andrew 10

S. Augu&tine 8

S. Chrysostom 4

S. Colombo 5

S.Gregory 8

S. Ninias 5

Saint Paul's Church 9, 103

Saxon slaves at Rome 8

Scandalous Committee 92

Scepticism in 18th century 1 12

Scotland, preaching in 5

Scriptures, TyndalPs Bible 51

*• Miles Coverdale's Bible 58

' • revised translation 77

Service Books 21

Sevenis, Emperor , 2

Simony 22

Six Articles, the 60

Smithtield, the fires of 69

Slave trade in Ireland 19

Solemn I^eague and Covenant 85

S. P. C. K 103

Statistics 130

Stephen 28

Stephen Langton 32

StraflFord executed 87

Sufferings of the Clergy 97

Supremacy of the Crown 21, 24, 26, 51, 55, 71

Synod, National at Whitby 13

Tertullian 4

Theodore, Archbishop 14

Thomas b. Becket 28, 29

Tithes, origin of 128

Toleration Act Ill

Trajan, Emperor 2

Translation of the Bible (James I.) 77

Triers, the 96

Tyndall'a Bible . 51

Union of Church and State 13

Unity 118

Ist-f

■it;

142 INDEX.

University of Oxford 17

Universities, the 103

Valerian, Emperor 2

Wesley and Whitetield 113

Westminster Abbey 9, 3S

Westminster Divines, tlie 90

Whitgift, Archbishop 14

William I 20

William II 22

William of Orange 106, 108

Wolsey, Thomas 50, 53

Worcester, 8ee of 14

Worship of the Church crushed Oft

WycliflFe, John 44, 45

York subjected to Canterbury 21

. 17
. 103

... ll.S
...9, 3S

• • . IM/

... 14
. .. 20
... 22
06, 108
.50, 53
.. 14
.. Oft
.44, 45

.. 21