most godly travel of the king's highness herein, as the godly prayers, orders, rites, and ceremonies in the said book mentioned, and the considerations of altering those things which be altered, and retaining those things which be received in the said book, and also the honour of God, and great quietness which by the grace of God shall ensue upon the one and uniform rite and order in such common prayer and rites and external ceremonies to be used throughout England and Wales, do give to his highness most hearty and lowly thanks for the same, and humbly pray that it may be enacted by his majesty with the assent of the lords and commons in parliament assembled, That all and singular ministers in any cathedral or parish church, or other place within this realm, shall be bounden to say and use the mattens, evensong, celebration of the Lord's supper commonly called the mass, and administration of each the sacraments, and all their common and open prayer, in such order and form as is mentioned in the same book, and none other, or otherwise.

And by the same act divers regulations were made, to establish the said book; which are yet in force, not for the establishment of that book, but for the establishment of the present book of common prayer injoined by the act of uniformity of the 13 & 14 C. 2. and which therefore remain to be inserted in their due course. For, that I may observe it once for all; the regulations made by the several acts of uniformity for the establishing of the several respective liturgies, are all brought over and inforced by the last act of uniformity for the establishing of the present book of common prayer, by this clause following, viz.

The several good laws and statutes of this realm, which have been formerly made, and are now in force, for the uniformity of prayer and administration of the sacraments, shall stand in full force and strength to all intents and purposes whatsoever, for the establishing and confirming of the said book hereinbefore [239] mentioned to be joined and annexed to this act; and shall be applied, practised, and put in ure for the punishing of all offences contrary to the said laws, with relation to the book aforesaid, and no other. 13 & 14 C. 2. c. 4. § 24.

And by the 3 & 4 Ed. 6. c. 10. All books called antiphoners, missals, grailes, processionals, manuals, legends, pies, portuasses, primers in Latin and English, couchers, journals, ordinals, or other books of writings whatsoever heretofore used for the service of the church, written or printed in the English or Latin tongue, other than such as shall be set forth by the king's majesty, shall be clearly and utterly abolished, extinguished, and forbidden for ever to be used or kept in this realm or elsewhere in any of the king's dominions. $1.

And if any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, that shall have in his or their custody any the books or writings of

[240]

Act of uni

the 5 Ed. 6.

the sorts aforesaid, and do not before the last day of June next ensuing, deliver or cause to be delivered, all and every the same books to the mayor, bailiff, constable, or churchwardens of the town where such books then shall be, (to be by them delivered over openly within three months next following after the said delivery, to the archbishop, bishop, chancellor, or commissary of the same diocese, to the intent that they cause them immediately after either to be openly burned, or otherwise defaced and destroyed :) he shall for every such book or books willingly retained in hands or custody, and not delivered as aforesaid after the said last day of June, and be thereof lawfully convict, forfeit to the king for the first offence 20s., and for the second offence 4l., and for the third offence shall suffer imprisonment at the king's will. § 2.

And if any mayors, bailiffs, constables, or others, do not within three months after receipt of the same books, deliver or cause to be delivered such books so by them received, to the archbishop, bishop, chancellor, or commissaries of their diocese; and if the said archbishop, bishop, chancellor, or commissaries do not within forty days after the receipt of such books, burn, deface, and destroy, or cause to be burned, defaced, or destroyed the same books, and every of them; they and every of them so offending shall forfeit to the king, being thereof lawfully convict, 40%. The one half of all which forfeitures shall be to any of the king's subjects that will sue for the same in any of the king's courts of record. 3.

And as well justices of assize in their circuits, as justices of the peace within the limits of their commission in the general sessions, shall have power to inquire of, hear, and determine the same; in such form as they may do in other such like cases. § 4.

Provided, that any person may use, keep, and have any primers in the English or Latin tongue, set forth by king Henry the eighth; so that the sentences of invocation or prayer to saints in the same primers be blotted, or clearly put out of the same. $ 6.

4. Thus stood the liturgy until the 5th year of king Edward formity of the sixth. But because some things were contained in that liturgy, which shewed a compliance with the superstition of those times, and some exceptions were taken to it by some learned men at home, and by Calvin abroad, therefore it was reviewed, in which Martin Bucer was consulted, and some alterations were made in it, which consisted in adding the general confession and absolution; and the communion to begin with the ten commandments. The use of oil in confirmation and extreme unction were left out, and also prayers for souls departed, and what tended to a belief of Christ's real presence in the eucharist. And this liturgy, so reformed, was established by the act of the 5 Ed. 6. as

followeth: Because there hath risen in the use and exercise of common service in the church heretofore set forth, divers doubts for the fashion and manner of the ministration of the same, rather by the curiosity of the minister and mistakers, than of any other worthy cause therefore, as well for the more plain and manifest explanation thereof, as for the more perfection of the said order of common service, the king, with the assent of the lords and commons in parliament assembled, hath caused the aforesaid order of common service, intitled the book of common prayer, to be faithfully and godly perused, explained, and made fully perfect, and hath annexed and joined it so explained and perfected to this statute: adding also, a form and manner of making and consecrating of archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons, to be of like force, authority, and value, as the same like aforesaid book intitled the book of common prayer was before; and with the same clauses of provisions and exceptions to all intents and purposes as by the act of the 2 & 3 Ed. 6. c. 1. was limited and expressed for the uniformity of service and administration of the sacraments throughout the realm, upon such several pains as in the said act is expressed. And the said former act to stand in full force and strength to all intents and constructions, and to be applied, practised, and put in ure to and for the establishing of the book of common prayer now explained and hereunto annexed, and also the said form of making archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons hereunto annexed, as it was for the former book. 5 & 6 Ed. 6. c. 1. § 5.

This liturgy was abolished by queen Mary; who having called in and destroyed the aforesaid rased books of king Henry the [241] eighth, required all parishes to furnish themselves with new complete books, and enacted that the service should stand as it was most commonly used in the last year of the reign of the said king Henry the eighth. Gibs. 259.

And for a month or more after queen Mary's death, the service continued as before, nothing being forbidden but the elevation; but on the 27th day of December following, queen Elizabeth set forth a proclamation, to charge and command all manner of her subjects, as well those that be called to the ministry of the church, as all others, that they do forbear to preach or teach, or to give audience to any manner of doctrine or preaching, other than to the gospels and epistles, commonly called the gospel and epistle of the day, and to the ten commandments in the vulgar tongue, without exposition or addition of any manner of sense or meaning to be applied or added; or to use any other manner of public prayer, rite, or ceremony in the church, but that which is already used, and by law received, or the common litany used at this present in her majesty's own chapel, and the Lord's prayer and the creed in English; until consultation may be had by par

Act of uniformity of the 1 Eliz.

liament, by her majesty and her three estates of this realm, for the better conciliation and accord of such causes, as at this present are moved in matters and ceremonies of religion. Gibs. 267,

268.

5. After which, in the first year of the same queen, a liturgy was established by act of parliament of the 1 El. c.2. in this wise : - Be it enacted, by the queen's highness, with the assent of the lords and commons in this present parliament assembled, that all ministers in any cathedral or parish church, or other place, shall be bounden to say and use the mattens, evensong, celebration of the Lord's supper, and administration of each of the sacraments, and all the common and open prayer, in such order and form as is mentioned in the book authorized by parliament in the 5 & 6 Ed. 6. with one alteration or addition of certain lessons to be used on every Sunday in the year, and the form of the litany altered and corrected, and two sentences only added in the delivery of the sacrament to the communicants, and none other or otherwise. And there was a proviso, that such ornaments of the church, and of the ministers thereof, shall be retained and used, as was in this church of England by authority of parliament in the second year of the reign of king Edward the sixth, until other order shall be taken therein by the authority of the queen's majesty, with the advice of her commissioners appointed and authorised [242] under the great seal of England for causes ecclesiastical, or of the metropolitan of this realm.

Of the lords and commons] It was not said lords spiritual, in this or either of the former acts; because all the bishops present dissented. Gibs. 268.

The form of the litany altered and corrected] By the omission of the clause, from the tyranny of the bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities; which had been in the 2d and in the 5th of Ed. 6. Gibs. 268.

Two sentences only added in the delivery of the sacrament] Of the two forms now used at the delivery of the bread and wine, the first part of each (to the word life inclusive) was in the book of the second year of king Edward the sixth, but not the second part; but in the book of the fifth year was the second part, without the first: and the alteration made by virtue of this act, was the inserting of both as they now stand. Gibs. 268.

Order shall be taken by authority of the queen's majesty, with the advice of her commissioners] Two years afterwards, by virtue of this clause, the queen issued her commission to the archbishop and three others, to peruse the order of the lessons throughout the whole year, and to cause some new calendars to be imprinted; which were finished and sent to the several bishops to see them observed in their dioceses in the month of February 1560. Gibs. 268.

By Can. 36. of the canons in 1603; No person shall be received into the ministry, nor admitted to any ecclesiastical living, nor suffered to preach, to catechize, or be a lecturer or reader of divinity in any place; except he shall first subscribe (amongst others) to this article following; That the book of common prayer, and of ordering of bishops, priests and deacons, containeth in it nothing contrary to the word of God, and that it may be lawfully used, and that he himself will use the form in the said book prescribed, in publick prayer and administration of the sacraments," and none other."

And by Can. 56. of the same canons; Every minister, being possessed of a benefice that hath cure and charge of souls, although he chiefly attend to preaching, and hath a curate under him to execute the other duties which are to be performed for him in the church, and likewise every other stipendiary preacher that readeth any lecture, or catechizeth, or preacheth in any church or chapel, shall twice at the least every year read himself the divine service upon two several Sundays publicly and at the usual times, both in the forenoon and afternoon in the church which he so possesseth, or where he readeth, catechizeth or preacheth as is aforesaid, and shall likewise as often in every year [243] administer the sacraments of baptism (if there be any to be baptized), and of the Lord's supper, in such manner and form, and with the observation of all such rites and ceremonies as are prescribed by the book of common prayer in that behalf: which if he do not accordingly perform, then shall he that is possessed of a benefice (as before) be suspended; and he that is but a reader, preacher, or catechizer, be removed from his place by the bishop of the diocese; until he or they shall submit themselves to perform all the said duties, in such manner and sort as before is prescribed.

After the passing of these canons, king James in the first year of his reign, by virtue of the aforesaid proviso in the 1 El. c.2. upon the conference held before the king himself at Hampton Court, gave directions to the archbishop and other high commissioners, to review the common prayer book; and they did make several material alterations and enlargements of it, as in the office of private baptism, and in several rubricks and other passages, and added five or six new prayers and thanksgivings, and all that part of the catechism which contains the doctrine of the Sacraments. And yet the powers specified in that proviso seem not to extend to the queen's heirs and successors, but to be only lodged personally in the queen; yet the book of common prayer so altered, stood in force from the first year of king James to the fourteenth of Charles the second. Wats. c. 31.

And it is to be observed, that the liturgy of the 13 & 14 C. 2.