maineth after the consecration the substance of bread and [wine] or no; Secondly, whether it be necessary by God's law that all men should be communicate with both kinds or no; Thirdly, whether priests, that is to say men dedicated to God by priesthood, may by the law of God marry after or no; Fourthly, whether vow of chastity or widowhood made to God advisedly by man or woman be by the law of God to be ob served or no; Fifthly, whether private Masses stand with the law of God and be to be used and continued in the Church and Congregation of England as things whereby good. Christian people may and do receive both godly consolation and wholesome benefits or no; Sixthly, whether auricular confession is necessary to be retained, continued, used, and frequented in the Church or no; the King's most Royal Majesty, most prudently pondering and considering that by occasion of variable and sundry opinions and judgments of the said Articles, great discord and variance hath arisen as well amongst the clergy of this his realm, as amongst a great number of vulgar people, his loving subjects of the same, and being in a full hope and trust that a full and perfect resolution of the said Articles should make a perfect concord and unity generally amongst all his loving and obedient subjects; of his most excellent goodness not only commanded that the said Articles should deliberately and advisedly by his said archbishops, bishops, and other learned men of his clergy, be debated, argued, and reasoned, and their opinions therein to be understood, declared, and known, but also most graciously vouchsafed in his own princely person to descend and come into his said high court of Parliament and Council, and there, like a prince of most high prudence and no less learning, opened and declared many things of high learning and great knowledge touching the said articles, matters, and questions, for an unity to be had in the same; Whereupon, after a great and long deliberate and advised disputation and consultation had and made concerning the said Articles, as well by the consent of the King's Highness as by the assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and other learned men of his clergy in their convocation, and by the consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, it was, and is, finally resolved, accorded, and agreed in manner and form following, that is to say; First, that in the most blessed Sacrament of the Altar, by the strength and efficacy of Christ's mighty word, it being spoken by the priest, is present really, under the form of bread and wine, the natural body and blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ, conceived of the Virgin Mary, and that after the consecration there remaineth no substance of bread or wine, nor any other substance but the substance of Christ, God and Man; Secondly, that communion in both kinds is not necessary ad salutem by the law of God to all persons; and that it is to be believed and not doubted of, but that in the flesh under form of bread is the very blood, and with the blood under form of wine is the very flesh, as well apart as though they were both together; Thirdly, that priests after the order of priesthood received, as before, may not marry by the law of God; Fourthly, that vows of chastity or widowhood by man or woman made to God advisedly ought to be observed by the law of God, and that it exempts them from other liberties of Christian people, which, without that, they might enjoy; Fifthly, that it is meet and necessary that private Masses be continued and admitted in this the King's English Church and Congregation, as whereby good Christian people ordering themselves accordingly do receive both godly and goodly consolations and benefits, and it is agreeable also to God's law; Sixthly, that auricular confession is expedient and necessary to be retained and continued, used and frequented, in the Church of God;... (Ed. from Statutes of the Realm, ed. cit., III, 739.) 120. The Bible in the English Churches (33 HENRY VIII, 1542) Records, Burnet The close of the reign of Henry VIII. was marked by a decided movement toward Protestantism. The influence of Cranmer and Cromwell was thrown against the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic Church. The changed attitude of the Crown is shown in the statute enforcing the keeping of a public Bible in the English churches, and in the proclamation ordering prayers to be read in the English tongue. These two statutes indicated the approaching era of ultra-Protestantism brought about by the advisers of Edward VI. PROCLAMATION ORDAINED BY THE KING'S MAJESTY, WITH THE ADVICE OF HIS HONOURABLE COUNCIL, FOR THE BIBLE OF WHEREBY injunctions heretofore set forth by the authority of the king's royal majesty, supreme head of the church of this his realm of England, it was ordained and commanded, amongst other things, that in all and singular parish churches, there should be provided, by a certain day now expired, at the costs of the curates and parishioners, Bibles containing the Old and New Testament in the English tongue, to be fixed and set up openly in every of the said parish churches; the which godly commandment and injunction was to the only intent that every of the king's majesty's loving subjects, minding to read therein, might, by occasion thereof, not only consider and perceive the great and ineffable omnipotent power, promise, justice, mercy and goodness of Almighty God, but also to learn thereby to observe God's commandments, and to obey their sovereign lord and high powers, and to exercise godly charity, and to use themselves according to their vocations, in a pure and sincere Christian life without murmur or grudging: by the which injunctions, the king's royal majesty intended that his loving subjects should have and use the commodities of the reading of the said Bibles, for the purpose above rehearsed, humbly, meekly, reverently, and, obediently, and not that any of them should read the said Bibles with high and loud voices, in time of the celebration of the holy mass, and other divine services used in the church; or that any of his lay-subjects reading the same, should presume to take upon them any common disputation, argument, or exposition of the mysteries therein contained; but that every such layman should, humbly, meekly, and reverently, read the same for his own instruction, edification, and amendment of his life, according to God's holy word therein mentioned. And notwithstanding the king's said most godly and gracious commandment and injunction, in form as aforesaid, his royal majesty is informed, that divers and many towns and parishes within this his realm have neglected their duties in the accomplishment thereof; whereof his highness marvelleth not a little; and minding the execution of his said former most godly and gracious injunctions, doth straitly charge and command, that the curates and parishioners of every town and parish within this his realm of England, not having already Bibles provided within their parish churches, shall, on this side the feast of All Saints next coming, buy and provide Bibles of the largest and greatest volume, and cause the same to be set and fixed in every of the said parish churches, there to be used as is aforesaid, according to the said former injunctions, upon pain that the curate and inhabitants of the parishes and towns shall lose and forfeit to the king's majesty for every month that they shall lack and want the said Bibles, after the same feast of All Saints, 40s., the one half of the same forfeit to be to the king's majesty, and the other half to him or them which shall first find and present the same to the king's majesty's council... And his highness straitly chargeth and commandeth that all and singular ordinaries, having ecclesiastical jurisdiction within this his church and realm of England, and dominion of Wales, that they and every of them shall put their effectual endeavours that the curates and parishioners shall obey and accomplish this his majesty's proclamation and commandment, as they tender the advancement of the king's most gracious and godly purpose in that behalf and as they will answer to his highness for the same. God save the king. (Collection of Records, Burnet, ed. cit., cvii.) 121. Church Services to be in English Records, Burnet This mandate produced a complete overturn of the old custom of using Latin in the services of the Church; and since its issue the services of the Church of England have been held in the English tongue. A MANDATE FOR PUBLISHING AND USING THE PRAYERS IN THE ENGLISH TONGUE. Mandatum Domino Episcopo London. direct. pro publicatione Regiarum Injunctionum. Most reverend father in God, right trusty and right wellbeloved, we greet you well, and let you wit, that calling to our remembrance the miserable state of all Christendom, being at this present, besides all other troubles, so plagued with most cruel wars, hatred, and dissensions, as no place of the same almost (being the whole reduced to a very narrow corner) remaineth in good peace, agreement, and concord; the help and remedy whereof far exceeding the power of any man, must be called for of Him who only is able to grant our petitions, and never forsaketh nor repelleth any that firmly believe and faithfully call on him; unto whom also the example of Scripture encourageth us, in all these and other our troubles and necessities, to fly and to cry for aid and succour; being therefore resolved to have continually from henceforth general processions, in all cities, towns, churches, and parishes in this our realm, said and sung, with such reverence and devotion as appertaineth. Forasmuch as heretofore the people, partly for lack of good instruction and calling, and partly for that they understood no part of such prayers or suffrages as were used to be sung and said, have used to come very slackly to the procession, when the same have been commanded heretofore; we have set forth certain godly prayers and suffrages in our native English tongue, which we send you herewith, signifying unto you, that for the special trust and confidence we have of your godly mind, and earnest desire, to the setting forward of the glory of God, and the true worshipping of his most holy name, within that province committed by us unto you, we have sent unto you these suffrages, not to be for a month or two observed, and after slenderly considered, as other our injunctions have, to our no little marvel, been used; but to the intent that as well the same, as other our injunctions, may be earnestly set forth by preaching good exhortations and otherwise to the people, in such sort as they feeling the godly taste thereof, may godly and joyously, with thanks, receive, embrace, and frequent the same, as appertaineth. Wherefore we will and command you, as you will answer unto us for the contrary, not only to cause these prayers and suffrages aforesaid to be published, frequented, and openly used in all towns, churches, villages, and parishes of your own diocess, but also to signify this our pleasure unto all other bishops of your province, willing and commanding them in our name, and by virtue hereof, to do and execute the same accordingly. Unto whose proceedings, in the execution of this our commandment, we will that you have a special respect, and make report unto us, if any shall not with good dexterity accomplish the same; not failing, as our special trust is in you. At St. James's, Junii - Regni 36. Directed to the Archbishop of Canterbury. (Collection of Records, Burnet, ed. cit., cxiii. |