Jer. i. PARKER, out of which there is no salvation, to the sole government of Abp. Cant. St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, and his successor the bishop of Rome. This successor he has constituted supreme over all nations and kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, to destroy, to build, and to plant; to the end, that the faithful, being incorporated by mutual charity, may be preserved in the unity of the Spirit, and presented unblemished and acceptable to their Saviour. The goodness of God having pleased to set us at the helm, and entrust us with the presidency in his Church, we have omitted no opportunities, but exerted ourselves to the utmost that unity and Catholic religion might be inviolably maintained, which God for the trial of integrity, and for the punishment of misbehaviour, has suffered to labour under so great a calamity. "But now the ungodly are grown up to such a degree of power, that there is no part of Christendom in which they have not endeavoured to scatter their infection and poison with their heterodoxies; that vassal of iniquity, the pretended queen Elizabeth of England, being particularly active, and affording shelter and sanctuary to the most criminal of this kind. This woman, having seized the crown, and by a monstrous usurpation challenging the authority and jurisdiction of supreme head of the Church of England, has brought the kingdom, lately recovered to the Catholic faith, to a lamentable condition and thus having by force prohibited the profession of the true religion, formerly suppressed by that revolter king Henry VIII., and with the assistance of this see, restored by the lawful queen Mary, of famous memory, she has given into the misbelief of the heretics, dismissed the nobility from the council board, and furnishing it with people who have neither birth nor principles to recommend them, has discountenanced the Catholics, and restored the scandalous preachers and ministers of iniquity to their former posts. The sacrifice of the mass, the stated prayers and fasts, the distinctions of diet, celibacy, and other Catholic ceremonies, are thrown out of use: and instead of these, she has ordered books stuffed with downright heresy, to be publicly recommended to the kingdom, and commanded her subjects to comply with ungodly mysteries, practised by herself upon Calvin's directions: she has farther presumed to deprive the bishops, rectors of churches, and other Catholic priests of their churches and benefices, and barred them the exercise of their function, disposed of their prefer BETH. ments to heretics, undertaken the cognizance of ecclesiastical ELIZAcauses, forbid the prelates, clergy, and laity, the acknowledgment of the superiority of the Church of Rome, or to obey the precepts and canonical sanctions of that communion, brought a great many to a compliance with her scandalous laws, to a renunciation of the bishop of Rome, to forswear all obedience to him, and by the same solemn engagement of an oath, to acknowledge her sole sovereign, both in temporal and spiritual matters: executing the penalties of her statutes upon those who continue in the unity of the Catholic faith, pay their customary obedience to us, and refuse to submit to her innovations to which may be added her imprisoning the Catholic bishops and priests: in which durance, a great many, after a long hardship, have ended their days. "All these things being so notorious over all Europe, and proved by so much unquestionable evidence, as not to admit of any excuse, apology, or colour of evasion: considering wicked and intolerable practice has been multiplied to so many instances, that the persecution of the faithful grows worse and worse, and the batteries are played with more force upon religion, and all by the means and instigation of the said Elizabeth; considering her mind is so far hardened, as not only to despise the wholesome advice and solicitations of Catholic princes, for her conversion, but likewise to refuse admitting the nuncio sent to her from this see: these things considered, we are constrained to have recourse to those remedies which justice suggests, being extremely troubled at the necessity of such an application; and that we should be driven to the use of rugged expedients against a lady, whose ancestors have been so serviceable to the interest of Christianity. "In virtue therefore of his authority, who has been pleased to advance us to the supreme seat of justice, though underproportioned to support so great a weight, we out of the plenitude of our apostolical authority, declare the aforesaid Elizabeth an heretic, and an encourager of heretics. And that those who adhere to her in the practices above-mentioned, lie under the censure of an anathema, and are cut off from the unity of the body of Christ: we likewise declare the said Elizabeth deprived of the pretended right to the kingdom above-mentioned, and of all dominion, dignity, and privilege whatsoever and that all the nobility and subjects of the said PARKER, realm, who have sworn to her in any manner whatsoever, are Abp. Cant, for ever absolved from any such oath, and from all obligation 522. De Schism. of fidelity and allegiance; and by virtue of these presents we actually absolve them, and deprive the said Elizabeth of the pretended right to the crown, and all other pre-eminencies and privileges above-mentioned. We likewise command all the nobility, subjects, and others above-mentioned, that they do not presume to obey her orders, commands, or laws for the future and those who act otherwise, are involved in the same sentence of excommunication. And because the conveying this original instrument to all places requisite, may be imprac ticable, our pleasure is, that a transcript, attested by a public notary, and sealed with the seal of a prelate, or that of his court, shall have the same credit every where, both judicially and extra-judicially, as if the original itself was exhibited. Dated at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord, one thousand five hundred and sixty-nine, and the fifth year of our popedom'. "CE. GLORIERIUS. H. CUMYN." About two years after, one John Felton was hanged, drawn, and quartered, for publishing this bull, and pasting it up on the El gates of the bishop of London's palace. Sanders takes the freedom to commend him for his zeal and constancy in suffering; but he is not so well pleased with the passiveness and loyal behaviour of others of his communion. "The rest of the Catholics," says he, "either because they did not believe the bull published in form, or that they perceived foreign princes of the communion of the Church of Rome continued their correspondence with queen Elizabeth, or that because Pius V. dying soon after, they were not assured of the bull's being confirmed by his successor, or out of fear of exposing their lives and fortunes,”-in short, Sanders is at a loss upon which of these motives the Roman Catholics governed themselves. However, he grants they kept on their allegiance, and owned the queen for their sovereign. And, as to the grounds of their acquiescence, it is charitable to interpret them to the best sense; especially since some of them, as will appear afterwards, have solemnly declared for unexceptionable principles. A consummately impudent bull, usually called the bull" regnans in excelsis," which occasioned much mischief. Vide Dodd's Church History, vol. iii. p. 12. BETH. tories put to This excommunicating bull, and the late rebellion in the ELIZAnorth, made the government more strict in looking after the Papists. The Inner and Middle Temple in London was marked for persons of this communion who declared against the Reformation. It was thought fit, therefore, to put interro- Interrogagatories to some of the students. To this purpose, they were the students brought before archbishop Parker and some other commis- in the inns sioners of the Star-chamber. And here, some of them, not giving satisfaction, were committed to the Fleet. These commissioners were furnished with instructions from the privy council, amongst which the questions to be asked are mentioned. These interrogatories are interlined with the arch- A.d. 1569. bishop's hand. Some of them are these: of court. "First. Whether you have commonly frequented the Temple-church at service time? Item. Whether you have received the communion in the Temple-church as others of the house have done? Item. Whether you said, of late time, that the marriage of priests was unlawful, and their children bastards? Item. Whether you have in your keeping a certain lewd libel, entitled, An Act to know a Knave,' or any other such like, or whether any other to your knowledge has any such? Item. You being requested in your chamber to go to a sermon at Paul's-cross, whether you said, 'You would not hear one knave of them all?-and that Mr. Alvey, master of the Petit's MSS. Temple, stood in the pulpit like a crow-keeper?" The two first interrogatories, and the last but one, were to be put to all the disaffected persons convented before them. Paget and Stone, students of the Temple, were examined upon more questions, that is, whether they heard mass in the Temple, White-friars, or the Spital? Whether, at mass, they prayed for the queen? Whether they had the books of Harding and Dorman against her majesty's supremacy? Whether they had no bulls of absolution in their custody? And, to prevent the spreading of popery, and press conformity in the country, the privy council wrote to the respective sheriffs of counties, that all such as were in commission for the peace should subscribe an instrument for observing the Uniformity Act, and for frequenting divine service in the parishchurches. These papers were signed by the justices in many counties, and sent up to the privy council, with letters of information touching their proceedings and the issue of this affair. Parker's PARKER, Instruments for confor One of the instruments runs thus :— "Our humble duties remembered unto your lordships. This is to signify to the same, that we, whose names are by ourselves mity signed underwritten, do acknowledge that it is our bounden duty to by the justices of peace. observe the contents of the act of parliament, entitled, An Act for the Uniformity of the Common Prayer and Service in the Church and the Administration of the Sacraments." And, for observation of the same law, we do hereby firmly promise, and every of us and our families will and shall repair and resort at all times convenient to our own parish-churches, and, upon reasonable impediment, to other usual chapels and places, for the same Common Prayers, and there shall devoutly and duly hear and take part of the same Common Prayers, and all other divine service and shall also receive the holy sacrament from time to time, according to the tenor of the said act of parliament neither shall any of us that hath subscribed do, or say, or assent, or suffer, anything to be done or said by our procurement or allowance in contempt, lack, or reproof of any part of religion established by the foresaid act. In witness whereof we have subscribed this present writing." Strype's Annals, p. 556. The Dissenter Cole man's letter Cecil. On the other hand, the Puritans, believing the juncture favourable, were busy in projecting new schemes, and bringing the Reformation to the Geneva standard. One Christopher Forster, alias Coleman, took the freedom to remonstrate against the Church, in a letter to secretary Cecil, and solicit for a great many amendments. And, since he delivers the sense of his party, speaks in their phrase, and argues in their in their manner, I shall transcribe part of his letter. Right Honourable, "I write in zeal, and love has compelled me out of a simple to secretary heart; praying your honour that you will not be offended with anything, beseeching God to make your honour zealous in promoting hereafter. The godly prophets have been many times ignorant of God's will, and have done things of their own affection as when David asked Nathan of the building of the temple, the prophet, knowing that he was a godly king, and that God did prosper him in many things, bid him do what his heart thought good; and yet afterwards forbade him. Again, Samuel would have anointed the eldest son of Saul. He means Jesse. "Even so, the prophet told Hezekiah that he should die: |