Item, When any Sermon or Homily shall be had, the Prime and Hours shall be omitted. The Form of bidding the Common Prayers. You shall pray for the whole congregation of Christ's Church, and especially for this Church of England and Ireland; wherein, first, I commend to your devout prayers the King's most excellent Majesty, Supreme Head, immediately under God, of the spirituality and temporality of the same Church; and for Queen Katharine, Dowager; and also for my Lady Mary and my Lady Elizabeth, the King's sisters. Secondly, You shall pray for the Lord Protector's Grace, with all the rest of the King's Majesty's Council; for all the Lords of this realm, and for the Clergy and Commons of the same: beseeching Almighty God to give every of them, in his degree, grace to use themselves in such wise as may be to God's glory, the King's honour, and the weal of this realm. Thirdly, Ye shall pray for all them that be departed out of this world in the faith of Christ, that they with us, and we with them, at the day of judgment may rest, both body and soul, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. All which singular Injunctions the King's Majesty ministereth unto his clergy and their successors, and to all his loving subjects; straitly charging and commanding them to observe and keep the same, upon pain of deprivation, sequestration of fruits or benefices, suspension, excommunication, and such other coercion, as to ordinaries, or other having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, whom his Majesty hath appointed for the due execution of the same, shall be seen convenient; charging and commanding them to see these Injunctions observed and kept of all persons, being under their jurisdiction, as they will answer to his Majesty for the contrary: and his Majesty's pleasure is, that every justice of peace, being required, shall assist the ordinaries, and every of them, for the due execution of the said In junctions. XXVI. King Edward VI.'s Injunctions particularly delivered to the Bishops. &c. vol. ii. p. 657. Restaur. FIRST, that they should, to the uttermost of their wit and Foxe, Acts, understanding, see and cause all and singular the King's Injunctions theretofore given, or after to be given from time to Heylyn, time, in and through their diocese, duly, faithfully, and truly to Eccles. be kept, observed, and accomplished; and that they should per- p. 37. sonally preach within their diocese, every quarter of a year once Wilkins, at the least, that is to say, once in their cathedral churches, and Concilia, vol. iv. p. 9. thrice in other several places of their dioceses, whereas they should see it most convenient and necessary, except they had a reasonable excuse to the contrary. Likewise, that they should not retain into their service or household any chaplain, but such as were learned, or able to preach the word of God, and those they should also cause to exercise the same. Moreover, that they should not give Orders to any person, but such as were learned in holy Scripture; neither should deny them to such as were learned in the same, being of honest conversation and living. And lastly, that they should not at any time or place preach or set forth unto the people any doctrine contrary or repugnant to the effect and intent contained and set forth in the King's Highness's Homilies, neither yet should admit or give license to any to preach within their diocese, but to such as they should know (or at the least assuredly trust) would do the same. And if at any time by hearing, or by report proved, they should perceive the contrary, they should then incontinent not only inhibit that person so offending, but also punish him, and revoke their licence. XXVII. Letter from the Privy Council concerning Homilies and In junctions. Office. Ec AFTER our most hearty commendations unto your good Lord- State Paper ship. Where the King's Majesty, with the advice and consent clesiastical of my Lord Protector and the whole Council, hath commanded. Papers. a general Visitation to be begun through his Majesty's realm, in the which his Majesty's Commissioners, for the better setting 342 APPENDIX. [1547forth of the true honouring of God and extinguishment of all superstition and popery, have in commandment to deliver to men of all sorts several Injunctions meetest for their vocations, and to the priests and curates certain Homilies to be by them read to their parishioners, according to the order of the said In junctions: Forasmuch as we would wish the same to be in like sort set forth with you, whereas yet no Commissioners be specially addressed, we have thought good to send you herewith certain of the said Homilies and Injunctions, which your Lordship may cause to be delivered to the curates, and others, within the limits of your jurisdiction, by the Bolloigne; after the delivery whereof, we trust that as the same of High be godly, and set forth by the King's Majesty for the good instruc tion of his Majesty's loving subjects, so you will both yourselves, in your own families, observe the same, and help also to have them well obeyed and kept of others. W. Seint John. T. Seymour. T. Cantuarien. XXVIII. Strype, Memorials, vol. ii. App. ment. A Proclamation concerning the irreverent Talkers of the SacraDated the 27th day of December, anno regni reg. Edward. primo. [1547.] first WHEREAS the King's Highness hath of late, with the assent and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and the comM. from mons in the parliament held the fourth day of November, in the Bp. Moore's Library. year of his most gracious reign, made a good and godly act Wilkins, and estatute against those who do contemn, despise, or with unConcilia, seemly and ungodly words deprave and revile the holy sacravol. iv. p. 18. ment of the body and blood of our Lord, commonly called the Sacrament of the Altar: and the said estatute hath most prudently declared, by all the words and terms which Scripture speaketh of it, what is undoubtedly to be accepted, believed, taken and spoken by and of the said sacrament: yet this notwithstanding, his Majesty is advertised that some of his sub jects, not contented with such words and terms as Scripture doth declare thereof, nor with that doctrine which the Holy Ghost by the evangelists and St. Paul hath taught us, do not cease to move contentious and superfluous questions of the said holy Sacrament and Supper of the Lord; entering rashly into the discussing of the high mystery thereof, and go about in their sermons or talks, arrogantly to define the manner, nature, fashion, ways, possibility or impossibility, of those matters; which neither make to edification, nor God hath by his holy word opened: Which persons, not contented reverently and with obedient faith to accept that the said Sacrament according to the saying of St. Paul, The bread is the communion, or partaking, of the body of the Lord: the wine, likewise, the partaking of the blood of Christ, by the words instituted and taught of Christ; and that the body and blood of Jesus Christ is there; which is our comfort, thanksgiving, love-token of Christ's love towards us, and of ours, as his members within ourself; search and strive unreverently, whether the body and blood aforesaid, is there really or figuratively, locally or circumscriptly and having quantity and greatness, or but substantially and by substance only, or else but in a figure and manner of speaking; whether his blessed body be there, head, legs, arms, toes and nails, or any other ways, shape, and manner, naked or clothed; whether he is broken or chewed, or he is always whole; whether the bread there remaineth, as we see, or how it departeth; whether the flesh be there alone, and the blood, or part, or each in other, or in the one both, in the other but only blood; and what blood; that only which did flow out of the side, or that which remained: with other such irreverent, superfluous, and curious questions, which, how and what, and by what means, and in what form may bring into them, which of human and corrupt curiosity hath desire to search out such mysteries as lieth hid in the infinite and bottomless depth of the wisdom and glory of God; and to the which our human imbecility cannot attain and therefore ofttimes turneth the same to their own and others' destruction, by contention and arrogant rashness; which simple and Christian affection reverently receiving, and obediently believing, without further search, taketh and useth to most great comfort and profit: For reformation whereof, and to the intent that further contention, tumult, and question, might not rise amongst the King's subjects, the King's Highness, by the advice of the Lord Protector, and other his Majesty's Council, straitly willeth and commandeth that no manner person from henceforth do in any wise contentiously and openly argue, dispute, reason, preach or teach, affirming any more terms of the said blessed Sacrament, than be expressly taught in the Holy Scripture, and mentioned in the foresaid act; nor deny none, which be therein contained and mentioned; until such time as the King's Majesty, by the advice of his Highness's Council and the clergy of this realm, shall define, declare, and set forth an open doctrine thereof; and what terms and words may justly be spoken thereby, other than be expressly in the Scripture contained in the act before rehearsed. In the mean while the King's Highness's pleasure is, by the advice aforesaid, that every his loving subjects shall devoutly and reverently affirm and take that holy bread to be Christ's body, and that cup to be the cup of his holy blood, according to the purport and effect of the holy Scripture, contained in the act before expressed, and accommodate themselves rather to take the same Sacrament worthily, than rashly to enter into the discussing of the high mystery thereof. Yet the King's Highness mindeth not hereby to let or stop the ignorant and willing to learn, reverently or privately to demand of those whom he thinketh knoweth more, the further instruction and teaching in the said blessed Sacrament: so that the same be not done with contention, nor in open audience, with a company gathered together about them, nor with tumult: nor doth prohibit any man hereby likewise so quietly, devoutly, and reverently to teach or instruct the weak and unlearned, according to the more talent and learning given to him of God. But only, that all contention, strife and tumult, and irreverentness might be avoided, and in open audience and preaching nothing taught, but which may have the holy Scripture for warrant. Upon pain that whosoever shall openly, with contention or tumult, and in a company gathered together, either in churches, alehouses, markets, or elsewhere, contrary to the form and effect of this proclamation, defend and maintain, or irreverently |