II. Anno 1560. vinity, Schoolmasters, Vicars, Petty Canons, Deacons, Con- CHAP. ducts, Singingmen, Chorists, Scholars in grammar-schools, and all other officers and Ministers, as well within your church as without. Whether any of them do either privily or openly preach or teach any unwholesome, erroneous, or seditious doctrine; or discourage any man, soberly for his edifying, from the reading of the holy Scripture; or in any other point do persuade any not to conform themselves to the order of religion reformed, restored, and received by public authority in this Church of England. As for example; to affirm and maintain, that the Queen's Majesty that now is, and her successors, Kings and Queens of this realm of England, is not, or ought not to be, head, or chief governor of this her people, or Church of England, as well in ecclesiastical causes or matters, as temporal: or that it is not lawful for any particular church or province to alter rites and ceremonies. To edify or extol any superstitious religion or relics, pilgrimages, lightings of candles, kissing, kneeling, or decking of images, or praying in a tongue not known, rather than in English; or to put trust in a certain number of Pater-nosters, or to maintain purgatory, private masses, trentals, or any other fond fantasies invented by men, without ground of God's word: or to say, teach, or maintain, that children, being infants, should not be baptized; or that 74 every article of our Creed, commonly received and used in the Church, is not to be believed of necessity; or that mortal and voluntary sin committed after baptism be not remissible by penance; or that any man after that he have received the Holy Ghost cannot sin, and afterwards rise again by grace to repentance; or that any man liveth without sins, or that it is not lawful to swear, for certain causes; or that civil magistrates cannot punish (for certain crimes) a man with death; or that it is lawful for a man without outward calling to take upon him any ministry in Christ's Church; or that the word of God doth prohibit the regiment of women; or that the word of God doth command sole life, or abstinence from marriage, to any Minister of the Church of BOOK Christ; or any other errors or false doctrine, contrary to the faith of Christ, and holy Scriptures. II. Anno 1560. Articles for the dioceses. VII. Item, You shall inquire of the name and surname of all and singular the abovenamed members, officers, and Ministers of this your said church; whether you know or suspect any of them to obtain his room or living by simony; that is, by money, or unlawful covenant, gift, or reward. Who presented him. Whether his living be in lease, and by whom it is leased: to whom; upon what rent. Whether he doth pay a pension for it: for what cause, what sum, and by whom. Whether any of them be known or suspected to be a swearer, an adulterer, a fornicator, or suspected for any other uncleanness. Whether any of them do use any suspect house, or suspected company of any such faults, any tavern, alehouse, or tippling houses, at any inconvenient season. Whether any of them be suspected to be a drunkard, a dicer or carder, a brawler, fighter, quarreler, or unquiet person; a carrier of tales, a backbiter, slanderer, batemaker, or any other ways breaker of charity or unity, or cause of unquietness by any means. VIII. Item, Whether you have necessary ornaments and books for your church. Whether your church be sufficiently repaired in all parts. What stock or annuity is there towards reparation of the cathedral church. In whose hands or custody doth it remain. IX. Item, Finally, you shall present what you think necessary or profitable for the Church to be reformed, or of new to be appointed or ordained in the same. Besides these Articles, which were for the use of the cathedral churches, there were others, in number twenty-two, by the Archbishop appointed, suited to the rest of the dioceses. Numb. XI. And what they were may be read in the Appendix, being somewhat too long to be laid here. A presentment for But to look upon the visitation of Christ's Church, Canterthe cathe- bury. There was a presentment made by the Prebendaries dral of Can- and Petty Canons, &c. by which it appeareth, that the Prebendaries came not daily to the divine service, and that terbury. Park. Re gist. II. the Ministers of the church were negligent in coming to the CHAP. church. There was drunkenness among some of the Petty Canons, railing and jesting, with great disobedience. Some Anno 1560. of them were great quarrelers. They had but seven Petty Canons, whereas there ought to have been twelve: and to supply the vacant rooms of the Petty Canons, they took men out of the town to serve; who had eight pounds a year apiece. Women did suspiciously resort to the houses of certain of the church. Mr. Bale and Mr. Goodrich presented, that the arms of Cardinal Pole, with the Cardinal's hat, were hung up in the church, which they thought "not decent, 66 nor tolerable, but abominable, and not to be suffered," as the words of the presentment ran. Harbol There were two ancient hospitals, both founded by the Statutes for the hospiArchbishop's predecessors, Archbishops of Canterbury; the tals of St. one, St. John's in the suburbs of Canterbury, situate without John's and the north gate of the city; the other, St. Nicolas Harbol- down. down, so called from a village of that name, within a mile from Canterbury, in the road from London. On the north side stands the parish church, and on the south of the road the hospital over against the church. They were both pious foundations for very charitable uses; namely, to harbour poor and sick men and women. But both of them were now run into disorder, and many things amiss there. The Archbishop being visitor, the settlement of these houses was one of the first things he took care of, being ever a great friend to all ancient foundations of religion, or learning, or charity. 75 In this first year therefore of his consecration, he framed very wholesome statutes for the upholding and good government of both. Now at this visitation at Canterbury, Dr. Park. Regist. Yale, the Archbishop's Commissary in the said visitation, and his Vicar General, September 18, in the church of St. John's, delivered to the Prior and Prioress of the hospital of St. John's there, the said statutes and ordinances made and conceived by the said most reverend Father: which he willed and commanded to be inviolably observed by them, and the rest of the Brothers and Sisters of that house. And the BOOK Anno 1560. bishop's same were also given near this time to the other hospital of St. Nicolas. These statutes began in these words: " Matthew, by the The Arch-sufferance of God Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate preface to "and Metropolitan of England, to all Christian people sendthe statutes. «eth greeting in our Lord. Whereas amongst other things "that do concern our pastoral office, we have before our eyes "the charitable affection and godly zeal that was in divers 66 66 our predecessors, Archbishops of Canterbury; which "founded and erected two several hospitals, the one of St. "John's in Northgate, in the suburbs of Canterbury, and "the other of St. Nicolas of Harboldown, nigh unto our see, "the city of Canterbury, for poor, sick, impotent, and needy people, to be relieved and succoured in the same; we know"ing the provision for the poor to be a thing very accept"able to God in this world, have, for the discharge of our "conscience, thought it our duty unto God to see, as nigh as we can, and the law of God doth suffer, that the said "hospitals be used and ordered according to the minds of "the founders our predecessors." But the statutes are somewhat too long here to be inserted. In the year 1565. the Archbishop took some further cognizance of his hospitals, upon some disagreement between the Prior and the Minister for preference, and some other matters, and added five articles to the said statutes. And again in the year 1574. he Numb. XII. added two more: all which may be read in the Appendix. By these good statutes the hospitals are governed to this day. The diocese visited. Thus after they had visited the cathedral church and hospitals, they proceeded to visit the diocese. And to the commission, for this purpose granted by the Archbishop, were added and assigned the several sessions, where the Commissioners were to sit, and the times when. As on Thursday September 19, in the church of St. Alphage, Cant. for visiting the deaneries of Canterbury and West Bere; September 20, in the same place, to visit the deaneries of Sandwich and Dover; September 23, in the parish church of Ashford, to II. visit the deaneries of Elham and Bridge; September 24, in CHAP. the same place, the deaneries of Charing and Lymme; September 26, in the church of Sittingbourn, the deaneries of Anno 1560. Sittingbourn and Ospring; September 28, in the church of Maidstone, the deanery of Sutton. diocese vi sited. At this time the Archbishop's visitors, under one, visited Rochester also the church and diocese of Rochester, by virtue of his commission granted them and kept the visitation in the church of Rochester, September 30, Mr. Walter Philips being now Dean there. The visitors were the same that visited the church and diocese of Canterbury; viz. Yale, Leeds, &c. Then Richard Turner, the same man perhaps that had been of great fame for a great while in Kent, for his abilities and sufferings for religion, now Vicar of Dertford, preached a sermon before them. This Turner was towards the latter end of King Edward's reign preferred to a prebend of Windsor: but soon after became a voluntary exile for religion. See more of him in the Memorials of Arch- Cran. Mem. bishop Cranmer, who had recommended him for Archbishop of Armagh. b. ii. ch. 28. CHAP. III. Divers dioceses visited. Some difference between the Archbishop and Bishop Sandys. The Archbishop makes statutes. Lands of the see of Canterbury exchanged. Regulates his courts, and other matters in his church. Moves the Queen to marry. The Archbishop in ecclesiastical commission; makes a reformation of divers matters in the Church. Alteration of the Lessons in the Calendar. Book of Homilies. Bucer and Fagius restored. The Queen dines at Lambeth. 76 sions for OUR Archbishop, pursuant to this his metropolitical visit-Commisation, gave out divers commissions this year, and appointed visitations. divers commissioners for other dioceses. As namely; Park. Regist. |