and understood little of popery, to imagine they could be reconciled to one another. There are

many other articles in the popifh religion which cannot be reconciled to the proteftant principles, befides that of the Pope's fupremacy, and which no person who believes the fcriptures can poffibly comply with it was therefore abfurd in James to pretend to maintain the caufe of proteftants if he defigned to mingle it with the abfurdities of popery. This wife King, as he was called by the Bishops, began foon to fhew his arbitrary difpofition; he made frequent mention of his hereditary right to the crown in his long fpeech, and that he was accountable to none but God for his conduct; and he foon began to fhew the nation in practice the real import of this theory. He altered the writs for electing members of parliament, and prefumed to defcribe to the nation what fort of members they fhould choose, and threatened to disfranchise those corporations who fhould not elect members according to his pleasure. When the parliament affembled, he hindered their examining of contefted elections, and commanded them to return fome members which they had fet afide. The favourites of James endeavoured to perfuade him to render himself abfolute; the Bishops were of this number, and from this period there has appeared among the clergy a party of men who have maintained paffive obedience to the greatest extent.

.

The parliament did not fo well bear with James's arbitrary notions as the court of Bishops; they paffed fome acts which gave them great uneafinefs; they

revived

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revived the ftatute of Edward the Sixth, which enacts, that all proceffes, citations, judgments, &c. in any ecclefiaftical courts, fhall be iffued in the King's name, and under his feal and arms: that all leafes or grants of church lands to the King, or his heirs, &c. for more than twenty-one years, for the future fhould be made void, which put a final stop to the alienation of church revenues.

The convocation which now fat with the parliament were very active against the Puritans. Bancroft Bishop of London prefided in this convocation, because the fee of Canterbury was vacant by the death of Whitgift: he procured a licence from the King to make canons, and on the fecond of May delivered in a book of canons compofed by himself, and presented it to the lower houfe of convocation. At this time several puritan divines prefented a petition for reformation of the book of common prayer, but it was rejected, and they were admonished to conform before Midsummer, otherwise they should undergo the cenfures of the church. While the canons were revifing there was a hot difpute in the higher house concerning the use of the cross in bap tifm: Bancroft was violent for this practice, but Dr Rudd, Bishop of St David's, opposed him, and made a long and fenfible fpeech upon this occafion.* The

* Canon 3. fays, That whofoever fhall affirm that the church of Eng land by law established is not a true and apoftolical church, let him be ipfo facto excommunicated, and not restored but only by the Archbishop after his repentance and public revocation of his wicked error.

Canon 4. Whofoever shall affirm the form of God's worthip in the church of England established by law, and contained in the book of common prayer, and administration of facraments, is a corrupt, fuper

ftitious,

The Bishops of London, Winchester, Ely, and Lincoln answered the Bishop of St David's; but when his Lordship offered to reply, he was forbidden by the prefident, and fubmitted. The book of

canons

ftitious, and unlawful worship; or contains any thing, repugnant, to scripture, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

Canon s. Whofoever fhall affirm that any of the thirty-nine articles of the church agreed upon in the year one thousand five hundred and fixty-two, for avoiding difference of opinions, and for establishing confent touching true religion, are in any part fuperftitious or erroneous, or fuch as may not with a good confcience be fubfcribed to, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

Canon 6. Whofoever fhall affirm that the rites and ceremonies of the church of England by law established, are wicked and antichristian, superstitious, or fuch as being commanded by lawful authority, good men may not with a good confcience approve, ufe, or, as occafion res quires, fubfcribe, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not reftored, &c.

Canon 7. Whofoever fhall affirm that the government of the church of England by Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, and Archdeacons, and the reft that bear office in the fame, is antichriftian, or repugnant to the word of God, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

Canon 8. Whofoever shall affirm that the form and manner of making and confecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, contains any thing repugnant to the word of God; or that perfons fo made and confecrated are not lawfully made, or need any other calling or ordination to the discharge of their divine office, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.,

Canon 9. Whosoever shall separate from the communion of the church of England, as it is approved by the apostles rules, and combine together in a new brotherhood, accounting those who conform to the doc trines, rites, and ceremonies of the church unmeet for their communion, let them be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

Canon 10. Whofoever fhall affirm that fuch as refufe to fubfcribe to the form and manner of God's worship in the church of England, and their adherents, may truly take to themselves the name of another church not established by law, and shall publish that their pretended church has groaned under the burden of certain grievances, imposed upon them by the church of England, let them be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

T t

1

Canon

canons paffed both houfes without much oppofition, and was ratified by the King's letters patent under the great feal. It contained one hundred and fortyone articles, collected out of the former injunctions

in

Canon 11. Whofoever shall affirm that there are within this realm other meetings, affemblies, or congregations of the King's born fubjects than fuch as are established by law, which may rightly challenge to themselves the name of true and lawful churches, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

Canon 12. Whofoever fhall affirm that it is lawful for any fort of minifters or lay-persons to make rules, orders, and constitutions, 'in caufes ecclefiaftical, without the King's authority, and shall submit to be ruled and governed by them, let him be excommunicated ipfo facto, and not restored, &c.

Canon 98. We decree and appoint, that after any Judge ecclesiastical hath proceeded against obstinate and factious perfons, for not obferving the rites and ceremonies of the church, or for contempt of public prayer, no Judge ad quem shall admit or allow of an appeal, unless he having first feen the original appeal; the party appellant do first personally promise and vow that he will faithfully keep and obferve all the rites and ceremonies of the church of England, as also the prescript form of prayer; and do likewife fubfcribe the three articles formerly specified by us and declared.

Canon 14. forbids the minifter to add to, or leave out any part of the prayers. Canon 18. enjoins bowing at the name of Jefus. Canons 17, 24, 25, 58, 74. enjoins wearing the habits in colleges, cathedrals, &c. as copes, furplices, hoods. Canon 27. forbids giving the facraments to schifmatics, or any but fuch as kneel, and allow of the rites and ceremonies of the church. Canon 28. fays, That none fhall be admitted to the facrament but in their own parish. Canon 29. That no parent fhall be urged to be prefent, nor be admitted as a godfather for his own child in baptifm. Canon 30. declares the fign of the crofs to be no part of the fubftance of the facrament of baptifm, but that the ordinance is perfect without it. Canon 33. prohibits ordination without a presenta→ tion, and fays that if any Bishop ordains without a title, he shall maintain the perfon till he be provided with a living. Canon 36. and 37. fay, That no perfon fhall be ordained, or fuffered to preach, or catechize in any place as a lecturer or otherwife, unless he first subscribe the three following articles: (1) That the King's Majesty is the fupreme head and governor of this realm, as well in all spiritual and ecclefiaftical as temporal causes. (2) That the book of common prayer, &c. contains nothing

in the reigns of Edward and Elizabeth, and are the fame which are ftill in force, except fuch as are fet afide by a late act of indulgence to protestants. Some of thefe canons are of a dreadful nature, and fhew the favage difpofition of the clergy of that age. In fuch an enlightened age as the present, it is amazing that they should be fuffered to continue as any part of the policy of a reformed church, for to all liberal minds they must appear fhockingly inconfiftent with the fpirit of the gofpel. An abftract of a few of them will convince any fenfible person of their abfurdity. Such as are acquainted with the terrible confequences of AT2.

nothing contrary to the

an

other. (3) That he allod of God, and that he will use it and no

the thirty-nine articles of one thoufand five hundred and fixty-two, to be all and every one of them agreeable to the word of God. To thefe he fhall fubfcribe in the following terms: I do willingly and from my heart fubfcribe thefe three articles above mentioned, d, and to all things contained in them.

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Canon 38. fays, That if any minister after fubfcription fhall difufe thefe ceremonies, he shall be fufpended, then after a month excommunicated, and after another month depofed from his miniftry. Canon 55. contains the form of bidding prayer before fermon: Ye fhall pray for Chrift's holy catholic church, &c. The rest of the canor the canons refer to particular duties of minifters, lecturers, church-wardens, and parish clerks to the jurifdiction and business of ecclefiaftical courts, with their proper officers, as judges ecclefiaftical, furrogates, proctors, registers, apparitors,

The whole book concludes with denouncing excommunication against all fuch as affirm that this fynod now affembled is not the true church of England by representation-against such as shall affirm that perfons not particularly affembled in this fynod, either clergy or laity, are not fubject to the decrees thereof, as not having given their voices to them against fuch as shall affirm this facred fynod was a company of fuch perfons as perfecuted godly, and religious profeffors of the gof

pel, th therefore that and their proceedings ought to be defpifed and collemned, though ratified and commed by the royal fupremacy and authority. These are fome of the canons, and their contents, which remain in force in the church of England to this day.