i n LIBRARY Theological S.e m i n a r y , , Cast PRINCETON, N. J. BR 375 \S8 1846 Spencer, J. A. 1816-1898. shei, History of the Reformation in England Booi s ^. HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. BY REV. J. A. SPENCER, A. M. AUTHOR OF " THK CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTED IN THE "WAYS OF THE GOSPEL AND THK CHURCH," ETC., ETC. NEW- YORK: STANFORD AND SWORDS, No. 139, Broadway. 1846. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by J. A. SPENCER, in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York. PBINTED BY JOHN R. M'QOW:*, 128 FULTON STBEET. PREFACE. In venturing to lay before the public a volume on the subject of the English Reformation, the author is not unaware of the difficulties connected with it, neither is he so presumptuous as to imagine that any thing new can be presented by him on this deeply interesting portion of Church history. He does not pretend to any originality, or to the possession of any peculiar qualifications for the task he has chosen. All that he claims is this ; to have carefully sought exactness and precision in regard to facts and circumstances ; to have consulted every writer within his reach in order to verify the statements made in the text ; to have endeavored to be strictly just and fair towards all parties and persons ; and to have set forth the public acts of the Church and State as faithfully as he was able, and as fully as the limits of the volume would admit. IV PREFACE. He has had one object ever before him, viz., to indued the reader to feel and appreciate the need and value of the Reformation ; and consequently he has written earnestly, and strongly, and plainly, on the point of papistical errors and abominations, and never hesitated to call things by their right names, whether in Protestant or Roman Catholic. He will be pardoned, he trusts, for expressing the hope that the volume will be found serviceable in making Pro- testants somewhat better acquainted with the history of the great Reform in England, and especially in training up the youth of the present day in the sound principles then established. If half the pleasure is felt in reading, that the author has had in writing on this fruitfiil topic, he will deem himself amply repaid. Ne W.York, November 20//^, 1846, 1* CONTENTS. Introduction* CHAPTER I. A. D. 1485—1534. Henry VII. — prince Arthur- — Katharine of Arragon — prince Henry — marriage — education and abihties — efforts of Grostete, Wickliffe and others — causes at work leading to Reformation — question of the divorce — Henry's motives — vexatiousness of the question — pope's dilemma — Cran- mer's advice — Gardiner — how settled — Henry marries Anne Boleyn — Cranmer made archbishop — papal supre- macy abolished — prospects of the Reformation. - . 33 CHAPTER II. A. D. 1534—1539. The king's supremacy — Fisher and More refuse to take the oath — are executed — visitation of the monasteries — Crom- well — his life and character — reasons requiring the visita- VI CONTENTS. tiou — motives of the king and court — ^motives of the Re- formers — results of the visitation — state of the convents — dissohition of the smaller ones — death of queen Anne Boleyn — wickedness of the act — Jane Seymour — articles of doctrine and practice — royal proclamation — effect of breaking up the monasteries — insurrections — pilgrimage of grace — new visitation ordered — report of the visitors — impostures and deceit in the religious houses — exceptions — dissolution of the monasteries actually necessary — shameful perversion of their wealth, and wasteful wicked- ness of the king — good flowing from evil. - - - 54 CHAPTER III. A. D. 1539—1547. State of things at this date — popish schemes — martyrs — John Lambert — proclamation against marriage of priests — act of Six Articles — abstract of them — Latimer and Shaxton resign their bishoprics — effect of the articles — birth of Edward — death of the queen — Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves — disgraceful termination of the match — Cromwell's fall — Romish ascendancy — Cranmer's bible — Gardiner's scheme to nullify the English version— new queen — Anne Askew — her martyrdom — difficulties and trials of the Reformers — Litany in English — King's Pri- mer — close of Henry's reign — evils of the Reformation — encouragements in prospect — advances made — Henry's death and character — reflections on Goo's providence. - 73 CHAPTER IV. A. D. 1547—1549. Edward VI. — his high and noble character — Edward Sey- mour, lord protector — his character — spoliations of church property — evils of rash zeal — images destroyed in churches CONTENTS. vii — general visitation — necessity of it — First Book of Homi- lies — Gardiner and Bonner in trouble — act of communion in both kinds — Six Article act repealed — chantries, chap- els, &c., given to royal treasury — images ordered to be entirely removed — revision of the liturgy — proceedings of the committee — Cranmer's catechism — First Book of king Edward VI. — how it differs from the present Book of Common Prayer — its value not to be denied. - - - 91 CHAPTER V. A. D. 1549—1551. Opposition to the new book — insurrections — ecclesiastical visitation — transubstantiation under discussion — doctrine of the Church of England on the Eucharist — public dispu- tations — Joan Bocher — licentiousness of opinion and prac- tice — Bonner deprived — Ridley translated to London — Ridley's visitation — ordination offices — distinguished fo- reigners — troubles of a new kind — contrast between En- glish and continental Reformation — Cranmer's settled views on the subject of the ministry — forty-two articles — thirty-nine adopted — not Calvinistic — how to be inter- preted. -_-----.- 107 CHAPTER VI. A. D. 1551—1553. Clergy driven abroad by Six Article act — Hooper — scruples about clerical robes — Bucer and Martyr decide against him — sent to prison — assents — consecrated bishop — Hoop- er's motives sincere — unfortunate result of this trouble — revision of Book of Co^imon Prayer — changes introduced — Ridley's sermon — Gardiner degraded — Ponet his suc- cessor — Somerset's fall — beheaded — Warwick's course — Vlll CONTENTS. passed by parliament, 1552 — dreadful licentiousness of opinion and practice — evils of the Reformation — destruc- tion of property and manuscripts — mj^sterious dispensa- tion of Providence — Edward's sickness — death — charac- ter — fearful trial in prospect. . _ . . - 120 CHAPTER VII. A. D. 1553—1555. Lady Jane Grey — ^her character — manner in virhich she was elevated to the throne — eleven days queen — Mary mounts tlie throne — Jane beheaded — promised toleration — duplicity of the queen — course determuied on — indecent haste in restoring popish practices — Hooper imprisoned — Cranmer sent to the tower — prisons soon crowded with Reformers — their courage and constancy — Commendone papal emissary in England — doings in parliament — Span- ish match greatly disliked — Gardiner opposes it — Philip's character — result — marriage takes place — convocation meets — its acts — public discussions — unfairness — popish taunt — Romish bishops appointed — Cranmer, Ridley, La- timer borne down by clamor and abuse — re-action — res- pite for a while — Elizabeth saved by Philip — Cardinal Pole papal legate — absolves tlie nation — queen's sacri- fices — persecuting statutes revived — Pole's feelings — po- licy resolved upon. - 136 CHAPTER VIII. A. D. 1555 1558. Year 1555 memorable — persecution set on foot — John Ro- gers proto-martyr — Laurence Saunders — bishop Hooper martyred at Gloucester — Rowland Taylor burnt — his code of laws for the Church — never completed — bills CONTENTS. ix character — papists disappointed — Fen-ar, Bradford, Phil- pott and others burnt — number of the martyrs during Mary's reign — bishops Ridley and Latimer burnt at Ox- ford — their characters — Latimer's last words — Cranmer reserved a while — cited to appear before the pope — condemned for contumacy — degraded by Bonner and Thirlby — Cranmer's recantations — how obtained — dupli- city of the queen and court — malice overshooting the mark — the archbishop retracts his recantation — scene in St. Mary's church, Oxford — Cranmer burnt — Pole made archbishop — his character — persecution unabated — effect of this — universities visited — doings of the visitors — Calais taken — unpopularity of the government — Mary's death — Pole's death — character of Mary. 152 CHAPTER IX. A. D. 1558—1563. Elizabeth's accession — her great popularity — hopes and ex- pectations raised — character and policy of the queen — decidedly in favor of the Reformation, yet cautious — wisdom of her measures — contrast between Mary's and Ehzabeth's course — crowned by the bishop of Carlisle — Romish bishops refuse to join in the ceremony — acts of parliament — supreme governor — public discussion — bi- shops deprived — clergy take the oath — Parker archbishop — consecration — Nag's Head fable — poverty of clergy — low state of learning — Jewel's apology — acts of convo- cation — articles adopted — second book of Homilies — Re- formation substantially completed - - - - 172 Conclusion ----..--_ 184 Appendix I. ..» 192 IL 195 in. 196 X CONTENTS. Appendix IV. _.------ 197 V. 200 VI. 2U3 VII. 205 INTRODUCTION. The Reformation in England is one of the great and leading eras in history. It deserves careful examination, or rather thorough study, on the part of all who love the truth : it claims the at- tention of every one who desires the prosperity of the Church of God, and the welfare of the human race ; for no event in modern times has had a more marked and wide spread effect upon the best interests of mankind than this, and at no period, probably, can the hand of Divine Providence be more distinctly seen in the guid- ing and overruling care which the great Head of the Church ever exercises, than in the various and strong reasons moving to reformation, the grounds on which it was based, the agents con- cerned in its commencement and progress, and the steps taken to bring it to a completion. 2 10 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Most of readers have often heard, and probably read somethmg about the great change in reh- gious matters which took place in England in the sixteenth century, and which is commonly called the Reformation. It is frequently a topic of con- versation and discussion ; and not only the men who w^ere active both for and against the Refor- mation, but also the motives of their conduct, are speculated upon and counted worthy of praise or censure. In various ways and from various sources information is acquired, and there is hardly any one but can tell something about the life and doings of that bad man and cruel tyrant, Henry VIII. ; about that lovely and excellent young king, Edward VI. ; the unfortunate Lady Jane Gre}^ ; the blinded and bigotted queen Mary ; the imperious but wise and cautious queen Elizabeth ; the lordly Wolsey, the politic Cromwell, the vain Somerset, the unscrupulous Northumberland, the sagacious Cecil ; or about the great and good men who died as martyrs to the truth which the Church of England holds — as Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Hooper, Taylor, Philpott, Bradford, and others ; or the many persecutions to which the cause of our holy re- ligion was subjected during those eventful times. INTRODUCTION. 11 Something, more or less, is known by all in- telligent readers on these points ; but yet we fear that few see or think how deeply they are in reality interested in the Reformation, and how necessary it is that they be assured that it was absolutely required, and that it was con- ducted in a proper and lawful manner ; and still more we fear that most of those who are now enjojang the blessings of the pure Gospel are not fully aware, that unless the Reformation in England can be defended and shown to be what the truth actually demanded, their fathers were guilty of schism, if not of heresy, and they themselves are partakers with them in those sins so pointedly condemned in God's holy Word.* Now, in our view, there is a deficiency in the education of every one, whether young or old, who does not know the grounds on which the Church of England renounced the usurped and tyrannical dominion of the pope of Rome ; trans- lated the Holy Scriptures into the common lan- guage, that is, the language used and spoken by the people of England ; and so arranged its public services as that all could understand what was said, all could join in the prayers * I Cor. i. 10—12 ; Gal. v. 20 ; 2 Pet. ii. 1 ; &c. \ 12 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. . and praises offered to Almighty God, and that none of the superstitions and absurdities of pre- vious practices should be admitted into the Church. Being fully convinced of this fact, and being- desirous, so far as we can, to supply this defi- ciency, we have determined to draw up a brief sketch of the Reformation in England, in which it will be shown why it was necessary, how it was conducted and who were concerned in it, its final accomplishment, and that there are sound and conclusive reasons whereby it is to be de- fended against all papistical attacks whatsoever. Before beginning with the regular history of the Reformation, as commenced in earnest in the time of Henry VIIL, (about a. d. 1530,) it will be necessary to go back some distance to get at the reasons and causes which led to such a state of things in religion as that this change or reformation was absolutely demanded. We shall do this as briefly and plainly as possible. The Gospel was preached very early in Bri- tain ; some learned writers assert that St. Paul himself visited this island, and proclaimed the truth there in person. It is not improbable, cer- tainly not impossible, that he did so, though at the same time it cannot be clearly proved.* * Clemens Romanus says that St. Paul preached as far as " the / INTRODUCTION. 13 Thus much however is certain, that within a hundred and fifty years after our Lord's Nati- vity, the Church had been planted in Britain, and the glad tidings of great joy had been spread over a large portion of the island. Not much is known certainly of the history of the British Church for a long time after this. The heathen Saxons from the continent, invited at first by the Britons to assist them against the Picts and Scots in the north, iiked England so well, and learned to entertain so great contempt for the people, that they made an invasion, a. d. 449, and not only overturned the civil govern- ment, and reduced the country to complete sub- jection, but also almost entirely crushed and destroyed Christianity. For about one hundred and fifty years, the knowledge of the truth was confined to the mountainous districts, principally in Wales, utmost bounds of the west." St. Jerome, that he labored unto " the western " parts. Theodoret, that he brought salvation to the " Isles of the Ocean ;" and that after his release from Rome he travelled into Spain and other nations. Writers of the sixth and seventh centuries expressly mention his mission to the island Tho late Bishop .Burgess, after a careful examination of the buLject, was fully convinced that St. Paul indisputably visited Britain. — Bates's " College Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, ^^ p. 179. 14 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. where the remnant of the Britons and the Welsh still maintained their liberty. Gregory I. was consecrated bishop of Rome, A. D. 590. Having on a certain occasion, before he assumed the office of a bishop, accidentally beheld some young persons brought from Eng- land and offered for sale as slaves, he was struck with their personal beauty, so different from that of the Italians, and determined to attempt the conversion of their fellow-countrymen.* By his elevation to the bishopric he was pre- vented from undertaking the mission in person ; * Gregory, walking one day in the forum or market-place, saw some very handsome youths exposed to sale. Inquiring of what country they were, he was informed they were of the island of Britain. " Are the inhabitants of that island Christians or pagans? " " They are pagans," was the reply. " Alas ! " said he, deeply sighing, " that the Prince of Darkness should possess countenances so luminous, and that so fair a front should carry minds so destitute of eternal grace. What is the name of the nation ? " " Angli," it was said. " In truth they have angelic countenances, and it is a pity they should not be co-heirs with angels in heaven. What is the province from whence they come ? " " Deira," that is, North- umberland, he was told. " It is well," said he ; " De ira," snatched from the wrath of God and called to the mercy of Christ. " What is the name of their king? " " Ella," was the answer. In allusion to the name, he said : " Alleluia should be sung to God in those regions." This was before he became bishop of Rome, which event occurring shortly after, prevented his going on a mission himself to far distant England. INTRODUCTION. 16 but on that account he did not abandon his be- nevolent project. He prevailed upon Augustin, a zealous monk, to take with him forty other monks, and go to England for the purpose of preaching the Gospel to the ignorant and un- godly heathen. They obtained interpreters in France, landed in the isle of Thanet, in Kent, A. D. 596, were favorably received by Ethel- bert, king of Kent, and were permitted to settle in Canterbury, and enter upon their labor of love. Their success was very great, and Austin was finally raised to the dignity of archbishop of England. Before his death, a. d. 605, he endeavored to unite the Churches of the Welsh and British with those formed among the Saxons ; but as he demanded concessions which they were unwil- ling to grant,* and acted in a haughty and over- bearing manner, the plan failed entirely. A second effort, not long after, met with the same * The concessions demanded were these : that they should keep Easter at the Roman time, should use the forms of that Church in baptizing, and should preach to the Saxons. As they had derived their customs from the eastern Christians through Gallic teachers, and as they were embittered against the Saxon invaders, they refused to agree to Austin's proposed basis of union. Their principal objection however seems to have been to the archbishop's imperious manner. 36 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. sure, and had an overflowing treasury at his command, he soon fell into the snares of artful courtiers and ambitious statesmen ; and the vio- lent passions which he naturally possessed, ere long began to display themselves, and kept on increasing with age and indulgence, till they ended in outrageous and frequent acts of tyranny. Henry's prime minister, Wolsey, was an able, but ambitious man, and made it a rule to relieve the king of all the troubles of government, and facilitate in every way possible, his devotion to pleasure. But Henry was of too active a mind, and possessed of too much natural good sense, to grovel in pleasure all his days. Being, by education, zealously attached to Romish dogmas, and also v/ell read in school divinity, he looked with indignant aversion upon the daring conti- nental Reformer, Luther, and entered the lists against him as a champion for the truth. Luther attacked with all that severity and roughness which was characteristic of him, the works of Thomas Aquinas, called after the fashion of those days, " the Angelic Doctor." Henry, who greatly admired Aquinas's works, wrote in reply a Latin treatise upon the " Seven Sacraments:" this was in 1521. The pope, well pleased to have so royal a champion, gave Henry the much GROSTETE AND WICKLIFFE. 37 coveted title, of " Defender of the Faith;" a title, by the way, to which he and his successors on the throne have tenaciously adhered. The king was also a munificent patron of learning and learned men ; though it must be confessed, that cardinal Wolsey surpassed him in this respect, so much so, that his memory deserves to be cherished for this alone, if nothing else. He founded colleges, and employed his princely revenue in building up institutions of learning, which, it ought to be noted, at this time began to revive and flourish, and was one of the important means of furthering the cause of the Reformation. Before the period of which we are now writing, considerable had been done towards preparing the minds and hearts of the people for the great change in religious matters, which was about to take place. So early as a. d. 1235, Robert Grostete, bishop of Lincoln, openly opposed po- pish corruptions and extortions : he hindered pope Innocent III. from nominating an infant nephew to a canonry in his cathedral : he enforced disci- pline, reformed .abuses, and denounced papal encroachments. In 1352, a remarkable work appeared, entitled the •' Complaint of the Plough- man." The unknown author attacked with great 18 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. after age, as being the truth of God in its purity and integrity. We must pay close attention to these things if we would understand how error, false doctrine, corruption in life and manners, and superstition, were gradually introduced and made their way, until the whole Church w^as tainted with these leprous spots, and reforma- tion, that is, restoring things to their primitive purity and soundness, was loudly demanded on all hands. Now, we know that even in the days of the Apostles error had crept in, and heresies had sprung up ; but they were repressed almost im- mediately by the watchfulness of those set in authority in the Church, and they made no pro- gress worth speaking of, among the early Chris- tians. These were men of undoubted purity and consistent piety ; led by the Spirit of God, they had become members of His Church from conviction alone, at a time when terrible perse- cution and trials of the hardest kind to bear, awaited the follower of the cross at every step. Hence, for man}^, many long years, the Church was pure and sound ; the Gospel was read and studied, and made the rule of action ; persecu- tion from without knit closer and closer the bands of brotherly love and union in the cause INTRODUCTION. 19 of their common Master ; occasional differences and disputes never marred the concord and agreement of the whole Church in those things which the Saviour and His Apostles had settled and appointed ; and we cannot but be struck with the numerous instances of strong fraternal sympathy and affection to which the days of trial gave occasion, and brought into active ex- ercise. But, by-and-by, a change came over the face of things ; persecution ceased ; the civil power, pagan intolerance, Jewish malignit}^, all com- bined, could not overthrow the Church, or crush the religion of the cross ; and so after a time, some three hundred years after our Lord's death, the flames of persecution burned out, the stormy trials ceased, and the Church became estabhshed as the religion of the civilized world. It had rest from its enemies, and they who were called Christians had no longer need to hide themselves or be ashamed or afraid to confess Christ before men. Christianity became the re- ligion of the state ; the pagan temples were con- verted into Christian churches ; the wealth and resources of a false system by degrees flowed into the treasury of those who preached Jesus and Him crucified, and great good was the 20 * REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. result for a time. But, after a while, worldly prosperity begat indolence and indifference ; as power increased and dignity was added, the love of power and dignity grew by what it fed upon, and stretched itself farther and farther, and grasped at higher and higher things ; ease of position led to speculation on subjects of no real profit, and to discussion of hard and deep and perplexing questions ; slight differences of opinion by degrees grew into irreconcileable variances ; rash and foolish expressions were magnified on the one hand into heretical depar- ture from the truth, and on the other defended and insisted upon with pertinacity and head- strong obstinacy. Ere long, greater pomp and outward show were introduced into the public worship of the Church ; the houses of God were like vast and imposing temples ; new ceremonies were brought in ; new ideas broached on several points ; and things in themselves innocent and useful, were perverted to purposes injurious to the people's spiritual health. The relics of great and good men, which every one will confess it is a dictate of human nature to treat with respect and care, im- perceptibly came to be regarded with reve- rence and awe ; churches were erected over INTRODUCTION. 21 the spot where martyrs suffered, and the birth- days of their martyrdom were observed ; their bones, or whatever remained of them, were col- lected and carefully preserved, not for the pur- poses of worship or any thing so abominable, but from the natural feeling of affection which we all have for what has belonged to a near and dear friend. By-and-by, however, super- stitious notions found place among Christians respecting the relics of holy and good men. They supposed some virtue or efficacy to belong to or reside in them ; some weak and ill in- formed persons imagined themselves to have derived benefit from them ; and in the course of time it was confidently said and taught that relics of all sorts could w^ork miracles ! The elements of bread and wine in the Lord's Supper, which so aptly and forcibly represent the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, after a time were spoken of in exalted terms, and with awful mysteriousness. Men of fervid imagina- tions and glowing eloquence, dwelt upon the unspeakable value and benefits of the one great sacrifice, and the preciousness of the Body and Blood of Christ, and while they urged these that the}^ might magnify the sacrament and draw the people to the Lord's table, used Ian- 22 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. guage which seemed to impty — which perhaps in some instances did imply — that the elements of bread and wine were no longer material substance, but changed by a miracle into the actual, literal flesh and blood of the glorified Redeemer ! so that at last the monstrous dogma of transubstantiation became the prevailing doc- trine in the Church. Prayers commemorating the pious dead, and supplicating increased felicity for them, w^ere early used in the Church ; but, by a strange perversion, the notion was started that men might pray for the souls of any or all the de- parted, bad as well as good, and that their prayers might avail to help the dead, who it was thought were undergoing a purging process, by which at last they might be fitted to join the holy dead in bliss and peace. This pernicious conceit of purgatory arose out of vain specula- tions. Certain men of philosophical turn of mind — especially Origen and Augustine — misunder- standing some passages of Scripture, thought that there was to be a purging fire through which all — not even the Apostles excepted — should pass, sometime between death and the resurrection. By-and-by, it was asserted that this was the fact, and prayers were ordered INTRODUCTION. 23 for souls in purgatory : the idea was pleasing enough to those who lived in sin as long as they could, and hoped in some way or other to get to heaven at last ; and so from speculation and doubt, and mixing it up with prayers for the dead, as first used, this notion became the doc- trine to which all subscribed. Pictures and images, at first introduced with no bad but rather good intention, soon produced great mischief, and after a while they were wondered at, looked at with awe, and finally worshipped. The Saints, too, w^hom they were meant to represent, were called upon and prayed to, and their intercession besought in most ex- travagant and wicked terms. The clergy, as these corruptions spread, be- came more and more powerful, and at last despotic ; they grew rich and monopolized all the learning and knowledge ; the people grew more and more ignorant and superstitious ; the Holy Scriptures they knew not how to read, even if copies could have been easily obtained ; and instead of the pure Word of God read in their ears, as is our blessed privilege, they were deluded and befooled with ridiculous legends and stories, worse than nursery tales and things of that sort. Pilgrimages and penances were 24 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. imposed upon them ; they were taught that money could purchase forgiveness of sin; that the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper, if only partaken of, would certainly help onward towards heaven ; that prayers to the Virgin would be heard and answered ; that repeating the words alone of prayers had efficacy ; that almsgiving and good works could buy merit in the sight of God ; that confession to a priest and absolution were essential; that private or soli- tary masses by the priest were effectual for the living and the dead ; and many other things of the kind. Last of all, though by no means least in its effects upon the world and the Church, the pope's supremacy grew to be an article of faith. He was not only thought to be the head of the Church, the centre of its unity, and Christ's vice- gerent on earth, but he was called the lord over kings and all civil rulers. He was infallible, i. e. could not say or do wrong, and whatever he said was right and true, as if revealed from heaven. He claimed subservience from all, every where. He demanded tribute from every nation and people, and pretended to unite in Inmself the headship of the Church and abGoIule rule over it, with the government of a province INTRODUCTION. S5 in Italy. The bishops were every where de- pressed, their rightful authority interfered with, and generally taken away; various societies were instituted, who acted as servants and sol- diers of the pope, and proved themselves useful emissaries throughout the world for upholding the supremacy and infalhbility of the bishop of Rome, and for worrying, vexing, and spying out the doings of kings and princes, as well as of the bishops and clergy, engaged in the duties of their calling at home. Our readers must observe that these great and sore evils came upon the Church by de- grees. They did not grow up in a night : they did not all spring up at once ; neither were they all caused by corrupt motives or a designed deception on the part of the clergy and others. They were slow in their growth ; it took years and centuries ere they attained full vigor or were carried out to their final developments. Other causes, too, were at work, which helped on the progress of corruption in faith and cor- responding corruption in life and manners. The civil commotions and broils consequent upon the dissolution of the Roman empire, the violent and savage inroads of the northern hordes who swept over the plains of the south with the speed of » ' 26 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. the whirlwind, the continual and bloody warfare which century after century was waged between petty princes and states, between kings and vassals, and between the roving freebooter and the recognized government, all had their effect — and a most injurious effect — upon the truth and integrity of those who were set to preach the Gospel. Nor need we wonder that ignorance the most deplorable, licentiousness of the most horrible kind, and lawless disregard of the purity and excellence of the Gospel, overspread the world and brought upon that period the expres- sive name of the " Dark Ages." These things must not be forgotten in looking back upon the past and in endeavoring to judge rightly of those fearful times. We must not lose sight of the fact, that when the people were grievously oppressed and ground into the very dust by tyrants and their minions, the Church was all that stood be- tween them and their oppressors, and the Church gave them liberty and privileges, and opened wide for them an asylum which no where else could be had. Nor again, if we would rightly understand these things, must we be unmindful of the many and severe trials to which the clergy were subjected in such a state of society, and the manifold temptations on every side to abuse that INTRODUCTION. 27 power which rightly belongs to them, and to grasp at wealth and influence when so easy of acquisition. We say not these things to excuse the guilt and wickedness of those who made gain of re- ligion, and had corrupted it to a fearful degree ; by no means ; we can use no language too strong in condemnation of the abominable errors and corruptions every where prevalent before the Reformation ; we can employ no terms too forci- ble to express our horror of the deep degradation into which the truth had sunk ; but at the same time we wish to do justice, and to avoid the wholesale mode of condemnation which looks neither at the circumstances nor the occasion, nor the men, nor their privileges or lack of privileges. We would not have our readers think that amid the great and thick darkness of those fearful ages, there were no gleams of light, and no in- stances of deep and fervent piety and devotion acceptable to God : it were grievous wTong done to our forefathers to assert such a thing. We would not have them suppose that all was mid- night gloom and impenetrable blackness, and that the cheering beams of the Sun of Righteous- ness were never seen or felt: there is evidence to the contrary, and there is good ground for the belief that God had reserved to himself many 28 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. thousands who had not bowed the knee to Baal. We would not that our readers should be so vain and conceited as to count — as is sometimes done — the men of those days, fools or idiots, with no learning, no powers of mind, no acuteness of intellect, no moral perceptions : — this would be foohshly extravagant and unjust, since it requires but little study and examination of the Middle Ages to see how absurd it is to bring such charges against all who lived before the Reformation. We trust that none of us are so unjust and un- generous ; and while we abate not our horror and aversion towards the abominable corruptions of the truth, and the deep depravity of the world sunk in ignorance and sin, we may charitably hope and believe that the Saviour shone into the hearts of many a one in those trying times, and will have from among them many sons unto glory in the last great day of account. We have said that these corruptions in doctrine and manners were the growth of centuries ; and we call especial attention to this fact, because of its affording so conclusive arguments against the novelties and innovations of popery, and so entire a justification of the course pursued by the En- glish Reformers, who, while they rejected what was new, held fast to the ancient truths taught INTRODUCTION. 29 and established by the Apostles. A brief ex- amination of only a few points will fully establish the truth of our assertion. No doubt the early Church, from the frequency of martyrdom, es- teemed the rehcs of holy men, and preserved them with great care ; but any thing hke worship of them or expectation of miraculous \'irtues from them, was so far from being entertained in the early Church or thought of, that when the heathen insinuated a charge of this kind, it was indignantly repelled,* and it was not till the seventh and * The " Martyrdom of Polycarp," a most valuable and interesting document, gives us a case in point. When this holy man suffered at the stake, (a. d. 167,) many of his friends wished to preserve some relic of him, as a memento of his greatness and goodness- But it was not allowed, a certain Jew malignantly suggesting that if they were permitted to do thus, they might forsake the crucified Lord and Saviour, and worship Polycarp instead. Now, how did the Church of Smyrna answer this wicked charge ? did they admit it, or trj' as the Romanists do, to join the veneration and invocation of Polycarp with the worship due to the Lord God ? No, their language is worthy o"" especial note: — " It is impossible for us, either ever to forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvat'on of all such as shall be saved throughout the whole world (the righteous for the ungodly) or to worship any other. But for the martyrs, we worthily love them, as the disciples and imitators of our Lord, on account of their exceeding great love toward their Master and King ; of whom may we also be made companions and fellow- disciples." To the same effect are the sentiments of St. Augustine (a. d. 390,) " Let us not count the adoration of dead men a reli- gious act 5 because, if they lived piously, they are not so though 30 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. following centuries that they were so unduly and wickedly esteemed. Transubstantiation (i. e. the change of the bread and wine into the body, blood, soul and divinity of the glorified Saviour, so that bread and wine no longer remains, but only the literal flesh and blood of the Saviour,) though taught in part as early as the second council of Nice, a. d. 787, and carried still farther by Paschasius Rad- bert, 831, was not fully established as an article of faith till the Lateran Council, under Innocent III., A. D. 1215.* Purgatory was at first a matter of mere specu- lation, on the part of Origen in the third century, and of doubt by St. Austin and others in the of as if they desired such honors : but they wish us to adore Him, by whose ilhimination they rejoice that we are m^de partakers of His merits. They are therefore to be honored for their example's sake, not worshipped as a matter of rehgion." — De Vera Religione, c. 55. * In the year 787 the second Council of Nice began with a rash determination that the sacred symbols are not figures or images at all, but the very body and blood. About 831, Paschasius Radbertus carried it further, even to transubstantiation, or somewhat very like it. The name of transubstantiation is supposed to have come in about a. d. 1100, first mentioned by Hildebertus Cenomanensis of that time. In the year 1215 the doctrine was made an article of faith by the Lateran Council, under Innocent III. — Dr. Water- land, Works, vol. vii. p. 182. M. '^W' INTRODUCTION. 31 fourth and fifth centuries. The pope and council of Florence, a. d. 1439, settled the notions of purgatory as now held in the Romish Church, and made it a part of the faith to be believed in its present corrupting, vile and anti-scriptural form. Pictures and images were expressly forbidden by the early Church ; they were introduced, as helps to devotion, in the fourth century, and the worship of them began about a. d. 092 ; the second council of Nice, a. d. 787, sanctioned them, though nearly every where in the w^est they were long opposed. At the same period, and probably connected with these, came in the invocation of saints and mart3'rs, and the worship of the Virgin Mary. The supremacy of the pope was the effect of circumstances, partly, and in a great measure the result of ambition. The bishop of Rome, of course, in consequence of the importance of the imperial city, was a person of great influence and weight — his opinion was consulted — his ad- vice asked — and when the seat of empire was transferred to Constantinople, he became still more important, being less under the restraint of the civil power, and his influence gradually in- creased more and more : finallv, ambitious men 32 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. from time to time being raised to the papacy, wished, and spent all their efforts, to extend its power and make it supreme over all in Church and State. This result was accomphshed in the eleventh and tAvelfth centuries. With this brief introductory view of the causes which led to the demand throughout the Church for reformation, and with the hope that our rea- ders appreciate in some degree at least the justice and necessity of this demand, we invite their attention to the history of the Reformation in England, as actually entered upon in the time of Henry VIII. CHAPTER I. A. D. 1485—1534. Henry VII. — Prince Arthur — Katharine of Arragon — Prince Henry — marriage — education and abilities — efforts of Grostete, Wickliffe and others — causes at work leading to reformation — questionof the divorce — Henry's motives — vexatiousness of the question — pope's dilemma — Cranmer's advice — Gardiner — how settled — Henry marries Anne Boleyn — Cranmer made Archbishop — papal supremacy abohshed— prospects of the Reformation. Henry VIL, the first of the Tudor race of kings, came to the throne a. d. 1485, on the death of Richard III. in battle, and at the close of the disastrous and bloody war between the houses of York and Lancaster, known as the " war of the Roses." He was a cautious, politic and avaricious prince, and succeeded both in estab- lishing his government on a firm foundation, and in amassing great wealth, though not always by 3 34 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. justifiable means. Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne, was married to Katharine of An^agon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, on the 14th of November, 1501. He was at that time sixteen years old ; his bride was a little older. On the 16th of the following April, Arthur died, an event which deranged all Henry's plans and had a marked effect — though wholly unexpected at the time — upon the cause of reform. It was quite contrary to the king's notion of things, to give up the immense dowry which Katharine brought with her to England, now that she had become a widow ; so he cast about how he might retain this vast wealth in his family. The pope, it will be recollected, was supreme at this time ; so his aid was sought to allow prince Henry to be betrothed to his bro- ther's widow, and when he came of sufficient age, to marry her. Accordingly this was done; and notwithstanding archbishop Warham had declared against the marriage as contrary to God's law, and Henry himself, when in his fourteenth year, protested against this connection — and his father on his death-bed warned him against the union with Katharine, still he, within six weeks of his accession to the throne, made her his bride. henry's early years. 35 For this marriage, so plainly in opposition to the Christian law on this subject, as understood by the Church of England,* a dispensation or permission had to be obtained from the pope, who, in giving it, craftily thought he would obtain a hold on England which could not pos- sibly be shaken off, since on his dispensation depended entirely the legitimacy of the children of Henry and Katharine. We shall see, by-and- by, how this very circumstance aided in the ruin of papal power and influence. Henry VIII. was born a. d. 1495. He was very carefully educated, with reference to the taking orders in the Church, and manifested in early life superior abilities ; he succeeded his father on the throne in 1509, much to the satis- faction of the people, who had become weary of the exactions of Henry Seventh's unscrupulous ministers, and promised themselves greater liberty under a youthful and generous king. As he was young and inexperienced, fond of ease and plea- * We say, " as understood by the Church of England," which expressly forbids a marriage with a brother's widow or husband's brother, since in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Un'ted States, there is no law prohibiting such marriages. Indeed the laws on this subject in our country are of the loosest possible de- scription. 36 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. sure, and had an overflowing treasury at his command, he soon fell into the snares of artful courtiers and ambitious statesmen ; and the vio- lent passions which he naturally possessed, ere long began to display themselves, and kept on increasing with age and indulgence, till they ended in outrageous and frequent acts of tyranny. Henry's prime minister, Wolsey, was an able, but ambitious man, and made it a rule to relieve the king of all the troubles of government, and facilitate in every w^ay possible, his devotion to pleasure. But Henry was of too active a mind, and possessed of too much natural good sense, to grovel in pleasure all his days. Being, by education, zealously attached to Romish dogmas, and also well read in school divinity, he looked with indignant aversion upon the daring conti- nental Reformer, Luther, and entered the lists against him as a champion for the truth. Luther attacked with all that severity and roughness which was characteristic of him, the w^orks of Thomas Aquinas, called after the fashion of those days, " the Angelic Doctor." Henry, who greatly admired Aquinas's works, wrote in reply a Latin treatise upon the " Seven Sacraments:" this was in 1521. The pope, well pleased to have so royal a champion, gave Henry the much GROSTETE AND WICKLIFFE. 37 coveted title, of " Defender of the Faith;" a title, by the way, to which he and his successors on the throne have tenaciously adhered. The king was also a munificent patron of learning and learned men ; though it must be confessed, that cardinal Wolsey surpassed him in this respect, so much so, that his memory deserves to be cherished for this alone, if nothing else. He founded colleges, and employed his princely revenue in building up institutions of learning, which, it ought to be noted, at this time began to revive and flourish, and was one of the important means of furthering the cause of the Reformation. Before the period of which we are now writing, considerable had been done towards preparing the minds and hearts of the people for the great change in rehgious matters, which was about to take place. So early as a. d. 1235, Robert Grostete, bishop of Lincoln, openly opposed po- pish corruptions and extortions : he hindered pope Innocent III. from nominating an infant nephew to a canonry in his cathedral : he enforced disci- pline, reformed .abuses, and denounced papal encroachments. In 1-352, a remarkable work appeared, entitled the -' Complaint of the Plough- man." The unknown author attacked with great 3S REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. severity some of the worst of the corruptions of Rome, as auricular confession, abuses of ceHbacy, wickedness of the popes, indolence of the clergy, &c. Richard Fitzralph, archbishop of Armagh, at the same date, preached earnestly against those pests, the mendicant friars. At this time, too, John Wickhffe arose, by whose learning, zeal, activity, and boldness, the cause of truth was much advanced, and men's eyes were in a measure opened to the enormity of papal abuses. To him belongs the glory of having first published the Bible in Enghsh.* His opinions on several * It must not be supposed that Wickliffe had the Bible printed; this was a later invention. He simply translated and circulated in manuscript as many copies or portions of Holy Writ as he could. The art of printing, which has had so great an effect upon the world, was discovered in 1440, and from its evident value, not long after came into general use. " By this great and good work (the translation of the Bible) the pleasure of the Most High prospered in Wickliffe's hand. An eager appetite for Scriptural knowledge was excited among the people, which they would make any sacrifice, and risk any danger to gratify. Entire copies of the Bible, when they could only be multiplied by means of amanuenses, were too costly to be within the reach of veiy many readers ; but those who could not procure * the volume of the Book,' would give a load of hay for a few favorite chapters, and many such scraps were consumed upon the persons of the martyrs at the stake. Tliey would hide the forbidden treasure under the floors of their houses, and put their lives in peril, rather than forego the book they desired ; they would sit up all GENERAL DISSATISFACTION. 39 points were extravagant and manifestly errone- ous, but he deserves great credit for his daring to preach as he did at the peril of his life. His followers were called Lollards, though the origin of the name is not very clear. Many of them w^ere martyrs to the truth which was afterwards estabhshed at the Reformation: we can now instance only Sir John Oldcastle, lord Cobham, who was burnt with circumstances of revolting cruelty at London, a. d. 1418, because he de- nied transubstantiation and other corrupt doctrines of the Roman Church. Li fact, the sentiments of Wickhfle spread so widely and so rapidly, as to give great alarm to the prelates of the Church. His followers were bitterly persecuted, yet still they continued to increase, and to propagate the sentiments of hatred for priestly tyranny, sloth and luxury, and for the various pernicious doc- trines which were maintained by a large part of the Church. This hatred of long standing abuses night, their doors being shut for fear of surprise, reading or hearing others read the Word of God ; they would bury themselves in the woods, and there converse with it in solitude ; they would tend their herds in the fields, and still steal an hour for drinking in the good tidings of great joy : — thus was the angel come down to trouble the water, and there was only wanted some providential crisis to put the nation into it, that it might be made whole." — Blunt's Sketch of the Reformation in England, p. 101. 40 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. was evidently increased likewise, by a circum- stance which occurred in the beginning of Henry's reign. In the year 1514, Hunne, a respectable citizen of London, was apprehended for resisting certain parish fees, and thrown into the bishop's prison, where he was found dead. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Horsey, the bishop's chancellor, and although he was acquitted after trial, still a deep dislike was fostered against the priestly order by this un- toward event. It may be doubted, however, whether any or all the causes at this time at work, would have been sufficient to have led to speedy reformation in the Church, without some other powerful aid coming from without. The increase of learning, the printing and circulation of the New Testa- ment, the study of the Bible to some extent in the original, lectures on the Scriptures, preaching of sennons, spreading of tracts, and short trea- tises, the abhorrence of the tyranny and open corruption of life and manners among many of the clergy, the scandal of monasteries and nun- neries, the longing desire after something higher and holier than was offered in the popular re- ligion of the day ; — these, and similar things, were working powerfully in undermining the QUESTION OF THE DIVORCE. 41 papal system, and preparing the people for a better state in religion and morals. Yet, after all, had not the ungovernable passions and the unconquerable self-will of Henry VIII. been thwarted, and his desires been interfered with, it is probable that old abuses, and especially that most grievous one, the pope's supremacy, would have continued in force much longer. It is worth while to trace out this matter somewhat more fully. The king and queen had now been hving together nearly nineteen years ; they had had three sons and two daughters, all of whom, ex- cept Mary, had been removed by early deaths ; Katharine's dowry of immense wealth had been squandered away, and she herself, by ascetic devotion and increasing infirmities, had become unattractive to the capricious Henry ; the princess Maiy's legitimacy had been questioned by the French ambassador, when her marriage wdth the duke of Orleans w^as in agitation ; and the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn had fallen in the king's way. It is difficult to say what it was which rendered Heniy alarmingly scrupulous as to the lawfulness of his marriao:e with his bro- ther's wddow ; yet it is, after all, a matter of no great consequence ; the Reformation is not to be 3* 42 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. judged by the character or motives of some of the leading actors in it. The evil life of some of those engaged in promoting reformation, is no argument against its necessity and value, no more than the wickedness of some who bear the Christian name is an argument against the blessed Gospel, on which they bring disgrace. Whether honestly or not, Henry's scruples became so urgent that he determined to seek a divorce. He applied to pope Clement VII. for that pur- pose, in 1527, but relief came not. The pope was very willing to gratify Henry, if he could do it safely; but if he granted the king's desire, he would thereby mortally offend the powerful em- peror of Germany, Charles V., who was the nephew of queen Katharine, and who had re- cently taken Rome, and thereby got Clement in his power. Thus he was in a complete dilemma ; he dared not decide either way ; for neither Henry nor Charles would bear to be trifled with, and either he knew would prove a formidable enemy. The matter continued in this vexatious state of indecision for six years, during which, under a show of carrying the case through for determination, the pope was only deceiving the king, meaning, if possible, never to pronounce any decision whatever, and hoping that some THOMAS CRANMER. 43 casualty or other might free him from his per- plexity. Meanwhile, Henr}^ who never swerved from his determination when once he had made up his mind to a thing, was taking measures for breaking with the pope if need be. In November, 1529, a parliament was called, in which Wolsey was impeached, and bills against various exac- tions on the part of the clergy, were passed. Shortly before, Thomas Cranmer — a name of great note in the history of these times — was un- expectedly brought to the notice of the king. He sus^ested a course which struck Henry's fancy as the veiy best which could be adopted. It was to the effect, that the king should collect the judgments of the principal universities and divines in Europe, and then decide the question by his own clergy. Accordingly, Cranmer was immediately taken into the king's service, and not long after, dispatched abroad on the business of the divorce. His success was very great. The general decision was in favor of the divorce, and against the power of the pope to give any dispensation in a matter which is contrary to God's Word. Notice of this was sent to the pope in the shape of a memorial, complaining of the outrageous delays in settling the question, 44 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. and significantly intimating, that unless more ex- pedition was used, the king would resort to other remedies. Henry soon proved that he was in earnest. He brought the whole body of the clergy under the statute of prarmmire,'^ in 1531, for submitting to Wolsey's legatine authority, and compelled them not only to pay him an enormous amount of money for their release, but also to recognize him as " sole and supreme head of the Church, next and immediately after Christ." And, what was still more important — he determined to take the law into his own hands, and was privately mar- ried to Anne Boleyn, on St. Paul's day, January 25th, 1532 ; thus, in fact, setting the pope's dis- pensation and opinion at defiance. The same year, Cranmer was ordered home by the king, who had determined to raise him to the archbishopric, now vacant by the death of Warham. This post was neither sought for nor desired by Cranmer : he opposed it in every way he possibly could : he declared that he was married, a serious obstacle ; then, that he could not take the usual oath to the pope, except under protest; also, that neither his habits nor his wishes * See Glossary of Terms, CRANMER ARCHBISHOP. 45 were at all in unison with so high and so dan- gerous a position. But nothing would satisfy Henry except he was obeyed in this matter. So Cranmer reluctantly acceded to the king's wishes. But before his consecration, which took place, March 30th, 1533, he solemnly declared, *' that he should only take the oath to the Roman see to comply with an established custom : that he would not be a party to any proceedings by which the law of God, or the prerogatives of the king or state of England would be affected ; and that he would adopt no measures except such as seemed advantageous to the reformation of the Church or state." With this explicit reservation, Cranmer entered upon the duties of his responsi- ble and burdensome office. On the 23d of May, the archbishop, with Gar- diner, bishop of Winchester — a subtle, unscru- pulous and dangerous man, as he afterwards proved — as one of his assessors, formally pro- nounced sentence in the case of the king and Katharine : it was, that the marriage was void from the beginning, because contracted with a brother's widow. Hard measure this for the sorrowing wife and queen, the much suffering and deeply injured Katharine. Our sympathies cannot but be excited in her behalf, and she 46 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. claims our respect and admiration for her sincere piety and consistency, and for the dignity and propriety of her deportment during this most trying period of her hfe. Though matters had gone to this length-^the divorce pronounced and Anne Boleyn pubhcly acknowledged as Henry's wife — still he hoped and made efforts to keep on terms with the pope. From the disposition of Clement VII., his unwill- ingness to lose the richest kingdom under his authority, and the active interference of Francis First of France, it is highly probable that in some way or other, the afl^air might have been com- promised and England still retained, had not a providential delay of Henry's messenger, sent with concessions on his part, induced the pope to affirm the legality of his marriage with Katharine, and to require him, under pain of ecclesiastical censures, to receive her again as his v.dfe. This memorable decision was made in March, 1534, at the very time when great events were occur- rino- in Enofland.* * It may be remarked here, that the 23d of March, 1534, the day on which the sentence was pronounced at Rome, was also the very day on which the act for the succession to the crown was passed in England ; and that the parhament which completed the great ecclesiastical revolution was prorogued before it was possible that intelligence should arrive from Rome. — Le Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. i. p. GO. PAPAL SUPREMACY SUPPRESSED. 47 Henry was, as might be expected, deeply en- raged at this fruitless result, and he now firmly resolved upon what he had all along been pre- paring for, viz., to cut loose entirely from Rome and to crush the papal supremacy in his kingdom. Accordingly parliament (which was always very subservient to the king's will) having passed laws suppressing the pope's supremacy, passed other acts, early in this same year, (1534,) which re- Heved the kingdom from the burdensome e;*i:ac- tions of annates, bulls, appeals, dispensations, Peter's pence,* and various things of the kind, by which the court of Rome derived annually from England an immense revenue. The Church, in convocation assembled, agreed very readily to these cheering proofs of better things to come ; for when the question was proposed to the bishops and clergy in the provincial synods of Canterbury and York, " whether the pope of Rome has, in the Word of God, an}^ greater jurisdiction in the realm of England than any other foreign bishop ? " it was decided, with great unanimity, that he had not. The universities concurred in this judgment. The various chapters, convents of regulars, men- dicants, &c., throughout the kingdom, also de- * See Glossary of Terms. 48 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. clared their assent, and only one bishop — Fisher of Rochester — refused to unite in this decision whereby the papal supremacy in England was regularly and vaUdly suppressed. At this point we shall ask our readers to pause awhile, and reflect upon what had been actually done towards bringing the Church of England out of papal bondage into the glorious liberty of the Gospel of Christ. The pope, as we have seen, like many an other cunning man, had over- reached himself, and by his contemptible trickery and delays, had driven Henry into a step which destroyed the first and grand article of papal power, viz., the supremacy. This was the start- ing point ; this was the entering wedge ; without this all other efforts would have been compara- tively powerless. So long as the pope was ac- knowledged supreme head of the Church in. the realm of England, just so long was it impossible to do any thing really effective in the way of reform. Besides this, several other things deserve to be noted. The archbishopric of Canterbury w^as filled by a man of great learning, zeal and dili- gence, and possessed of tlie lasting confidence and affections of Henry. Cranmer, the great promoter of the Reformation, was no ordinary cranmer's life and services. 49 man ; and we doubt if there was any in England who could have filled that see with so much real benefit to the Church and to the cause of pure religion. Born of a good family in 1489, he early became distinguished for those qualities which shone out so conspicuously in after years : his reputation for scholarship was very high at the university of Cambridge, where he was succes- sively a fellow, lecturer, and university examiner of candidates for theological degrees. His life and services, which unhappily it has become somewhat fashionable of late years to undervalue, require deep and careful study rightly to see and feel their importance and value. It should be remembered, too, that the new queen was of a family earnestly and sincerely attached to the Reformation, and she herself was a warm friend to those who had in view the purity and prosperity of the Church, and did all in her power to further the cause of truth and piety. Moreover, some of the bishops, with Cranmer at their head, were dihgently engaged in endeavor- ing to procure a new translation of the Bible ; and numerous publications were issued tending to open the eyes of the people and set them to thinking, a thing to which, for a long time, they had been but little accustomed. 50 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. In these respects the prospect seemed favorable for carrying on to a successful completion the great work of reforming, that is, restoring to primitive purity and soundness, the corrupt and suffering Church of England. At the same time, it must be confessed, that the way before the Reformers was dark and uncertain, and no one knew how soon he might have to seal his testi- mony with his blood. Henry was a tyrant, a capricious, selfish, unfeeling tyrant, and therefore not 'at all to be depended on. He does not seeni ever to have entered heartily into the views of those who, like Cranmer, desired to restore primitive purity and godhness. He was as tena- cious of his own supremacy as ever the pope could have been respecting that of the successor of St. Peter ; and he was as ready to burn those whod oubted or denied this point, as if it had been a matter of faith essential to salvation.* * In one sense it might even be fairly said, that Henry was a more ardent papist than before (the pope's supremacy was ruined in England ;) the supreme pontificate being now transferred to his own hand. It was almost natural that he should look with more complacency than ever upon the sacred deposite of doctrine and tradition, now that he had been enabled to usurp the care of it. There remained no one personal interest to shake his allegiance to the Romish religion, considered merely as a scheme of belief. The possessions of the hierarchy, indeed, were still left to tempt his PROSPECTS OF THE REFORMERS. 61 The great mass of the clergy, too, were wedded to the old superstitions and abuses, and with very few exceptions, the archbishop had none on whom he could certainly rely. Ignorance the most deplorable, nay, almost incredible, prevailed not only among the common people, but also among their spiritual guides and directors. Li- centious discussion was every where carried on ; men's minds were in a ferment; restlessness, uncertainty, doubt, wonder, unbelief, all had their place, and were leavening the community with the powerful and discordant elements of strife and disunion ; and men were fast being prepared for any extravagance of fanatical wick- edness and fierceness. For these, and similar reasons, the prospect to the Reformers was far from being bright and cheering, and had it depended on their might or their wisdom, the suffering Church of England rapacity ; but the work of spoliation might be effected with scarcely the sacrifice of a single dogma. And accordingly, in all essential respects, Henry continued to his dying day, nearly as rigid a Ro- manist as when he first earned his title of Defender of the Faith : and the only wonder is, that with such a pope at the head of the Church, Cranmer should have been able during his reign, to advance a single step towards that more effective reformation which he after- wards so happily accomplished. — Lk Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. i. p. 80. 52 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. would probably never have been released from the thraldom of popery. But it was not by an arm of flesh that our fathers were- delivered. God was in the midst of His Church ; He blessed the study of His pure Word ; He stirred up the hearts of His servants to labor diligently in the great work set before them ; He taught them not to count their lives dear unto themselves in the cause of Christ ; His Holy Spirit's influence rested upon their efforts ; He put a hook into the nose of that leviathan — the tyrant Henry VIII. — and made that he was faithful to Cranmer, the great, good, and humble minded, when he was faithful to no one else. Even so it was ; and as we look back upon the events of a few years — most important in their effects — we may well render thanks to Almighty God and recognize His over-ruling providence in human affairs. What so unlikely as that the king, a bigotted papist — retaining his partiality to the tenets and dogmas of Rome even to his death — and a writer in its defence, should be the principal agent in causing its ruin in England? What more singular than that the pope, cool, cautious, calculating, and unusually wary not to proceed to extremities, should have been strangely intemperate and hot, all of a sudden ; and by PROVIDENTIAL GUIDANCE. 53 refusing to wait for a messenger hourly expected, should have forever closed the door of reconcilia- tion between Henry and himself"? Who can observe all this and not acknowledge the short sighted policy of earthly designs and prospects : and who can fail to thank that Almighty Power who setteth at naught the wisdom and prudence of man, and governeth the world according to those laws which most surely promote the in- terests of His creatures ! CHAPTER II. A. D. 1534—1539. The king's supremacy — Fisher and More refuse the oath — are ex- ecuted — Visitation of the monasteries — Cromwell — his hfe and character — reasons requiring the visitation — motives of the king and court — motives of the Reformers — results of the visitation — state of the convents— dissolution of the smaller ones — death of queen Anne Boleyn — wickedness of the act — Jane Seymour — articles of doctrine and practice — royal proclamation — effect of breaking up the monasteries — insurrections — pilgrimage of grace — new visitation ordered — report of the visitors — imposture and deceit in the religious houses — exceptions — dissolution of the monasteries absolutely necessary — shameful per\'^ersion of their wealth and wasteful wickedness of the king—good flowing from evil. The pope's supremacy, as we have seen, was abolished in England by the acts of parliament, in 1534 : the immediate consequence of this im- portant step was, the requiring an oath to be taken to the king as supreme in the Church as FISHER AND MORE. 56 well as state, and settling the succession of the crown on the children, if any, of Henry and Anne, under penalties of the most extreme se- verity. The major part of the nation, both clergy and laity, very readily agreed to this change of allegiance, for which indeed they had become prepared by the previous acts of the king and parliament. There was not, however, a universal assent to the act of succession. Many of the friars, denying the royal supremacy, were put to death. Fisher, the aged bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor of England, were willing to swear fidelity to the succession to the throne as appointed by law ; but they refused to commit themselves to the statements of the preamble to the act which involved an affirmation of the nullity of the marriage with Katharine, and the validity of that wdth Anne Boleyn. It was urged by Cran- mer, that their conscientious scruples on this point should be grcitified, especially as they agreed to every thing that was essential, viz., the supreme authority of the king over all his subjects ; and still more, as they w^ere men of note and great weight in the community. But Henry's obstinate adherence to his own will was shockingly manifested ; nothing would satisfy 56 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. him except unconditional obedience, and this being refused, he sent them both to the tower to try if imprisonment and hardships would not break down their opposition. Neither Fisher nor More yielded ; so that the king, who never let any obstacle hinder him when his mind was set upon an object, in the course of the next year had them tried, convicted and executed upon the scaffold.* This outrageous proceeding will always remain a foul blot upon the character of the king, who dared thus to commit acts of legalized murder. The next step of importance, was the appoint- ment of a commission for a general visitation of the monasteries and other religious houses, and an inquiry into their state and condition, with the intention, no doubt, of breaking up a large number of them. At the head of this commission, was placed a layman, who filled a large space in these eventful times, who exercised very con- siderable influence in furthering the Reformation, and whose rise and fall are alike remarkable * The execution of these eminent men, the one nearly fourscore, venerable also for his erudition and his virtues, — the other, the most distinguished ornament of his age and country, was regarded throughout Christendom with wonder and detestation. — Southey's Book of the Church, chap. xii. Cromwell's life and character. 57 and impressive. Thomas Cromwell was of hum- ble origin, and brought up in the house of Wol- sey, whom he served with faithfulness, zeal and ability, even to the hour of that great man's fall. His talents recommended him to the king, with whom he so ingratiated himself that he rose rapidly, and though his ambition was time-ser- ving, and desire of office and power his ruling motive, still we cannot doubt that his convictions were decidedly in favor of the Reformation, and his efforts sincerely bent towards setting it for- ward. He was created vicar-general for the visitation of the monasteries and settling of eccle- siastical affairs, and subsequently he became lord vicegerent, an office which gave him all the power previously enjoyed by the pope in the English Church, and which was certainly a dangerous infringement of the powers and pre- rogatives of the bishops. Cromwell afterwards rose to the earldom of Essex, but by one false step he lost the favor of the king, and in 1540, perished on the scaffold, a striking monument of the instability of human greatness. The commission was extremely active, and, as might be supposed, very successful in accom- plishing an end equally desired — though for very different reasons — by the king and a hungry 4 58 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. crowd of rapacious courtiers, and by the devoted archbishop and the true friends of rehgion and learning. The monasteries were the grand bul- warks of popery in England, and so long as they existed it would have been next to impossible to have effected reform in the Church. The hold they had upon the people, the superstitious reverence which was paid to relics and shrines, the great numbers of religious houses which were spread all over the kingdom, rendered these establishments engines of immense power in thwarting the designs of the Reformers, and in upholding the ancient superstitions. It was mainly on this account that Cranmer and his fellow laborers desired their suppression, in order that the minds of the people might be dis- abused, and the wealth which had been bestowed upon the monasteries, for the purpose of promo- ting truth and piety, might be employed in fur- nishing — ^what was so much needed at that time — a body of learned, godly and active clergy. The king, however, in his profligate extrava- gance, seems to have cast a longing eye upon the great wealth of the monastic houses, rather for the purpose of gratifying his passions than with any positive good intent ; and his favorites, and the creatures about his court and person, STATE OF THE MONASTERIES. 59 were as eager as ravenous dogs for the spoil in which they expected largely to share. Henry may have had some better motives in view in what he. purposed : it is asserted by writers of eminence that he had, that he meant to expend the money in founding bishoprics, and constructing harbors for the growing com- merce of England : we are not disposed to deny what was probably true, that he had some vague notion of appropriating the great wealth of the monasteries to some object of public advantage, and we are assured, that a plan had been drawn up for the increase of Episcopal supervision. However this may be, the king urged on the commissioners to make speedy work. They did so : they found in some, nay many, the prevalence of the most infamous lewdness and debauchery ; some were sunk in sloth and luxury ; some were devoted to the merest animal life or childish absurdities ; while to others, though a lamentably small proportion of the whole, was rendered the just praise of being occupied in deeds of piety and learning. The commissioners made thorough work of what they did, for they knew the master whom they served ; and even allowing that they exagge- rated some things, that they were determined to 60 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. find evil, whether it existed to any great extent or not — as popish writers assert — iu must never- theless be allowed, that it was high time that something in the way of reform should be brought to bear upon these houses of superstition, fraud and imposture. On the report of the commissioners, parlia- ment, early in 1536, passed an act dissolving all the monasteries of which the annual income was under ^200 (or nearly $1000.) By this sweep- ing blow no less than three hundred and seventy- five religious houses were broken up, and pro- perty to the amount of $150,000 or more per annum, together with alarge sum (about $50,000) arising from plate and jewels, passed from the hands of the monks into those of the king and his court. It is mournful to reflect that it was all quickty dissipated and spent in a way which could not profit either soul or body ; and it is sad and fearful to think of the vast mass of ignorance, want and disaffection, which was thus suddenly thrown loose upon society.* It will * The effect of this terrible measure may be iu some degree estimated by considering the fact, that during Henry's reign, no less than 72,000 persons are said to have peridlied by the hand of the executioner, sorne rendered desperate in consequence of want, and others made bold by the lawless license of the times. ANNE BOLEYN's DEATH. 61 be seen, subsequently, what sore evils grew out of this hasty proceeding. A most lamentable event occurred this year, which tended much to dishearten the friends and supporters of the Reformation. It was the cruel and most unrighteous condemnation of queen Anne Boleyn. Being of a lively and cheerful disposition, tending almost to frivolity, at times, and remarkable for openness and free- dom of manners, she frequently gave occasion for evil tongues to censure, and evil hearts to pervert her words and actions. Henry seems, from some cause or other, to have cooled in his love for her, and to have become jealous and suspicious, a state of mind which was inflamed by the haters of the queen and the cause of the Reformation, to which she was well known to be a firm and uniform friend. Accordingly, on the most unfounded and contradictory charges, she was committed to the tower, being deserted b}^ all her former friends except Cranmer, who, to his own great risk, made strenuous efforts to soften the wrath and jealousy of the capricious tyrant, but in vain. She was tried and con- demned in secret by the mere tools of the king, and was beheaded. May 19th, 1536. Perhaps the strongest proof of her innocence of any crime 62 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. but that of having lost Henry's affection, is in the fact that the very day after her execution, the king, with disgusting haste and to the out- rage of all decency, married Lady Jane Sey- mour, a maid of honor to the murdered queen, and renowned for youth and beauty.* The destruction of Queen Anne, however, did not prove of so much advantage to the papists as was hoped : for the Reformation kept its on- ward course. The convocation havinof consi- dered very fully certain articles of doctrine and practice which were submitted to them by the king, agreed upon several points, which were accordingly published by the royal authority. They are well worth our notice and examination, since they form the earliest document relating to the faith, issued by the Church of England since the beginning of the Reformation. Their general outline is as follows : — The Bible and the three Creeds are laid down as the basis of our faith. Baptism is declared to * The thorough hardness of Henry's heart was shown, when he declared his marriage with Anne Boleyn void, beheaded her upon a false and monstrous charge of adultery and incest, and married Jane Seymour the next day. This change produced no alteration in religious affairs, for the new queen was of a family which favored the Reformation, and shared largely in the plunder distributed under that name. — Southey's Book of the Church, chap. xii. ARTICLES OF FAITH. 63 be absolutely necessary, so that children dying unbaptized cannot be saved. Penance, that is, repentance, is a sacrament, and necessary. Confession to apriest is necessary and effectual. The corporal presence, that is, transubstantia- tion, is necessary to be believed. Though justification depends on the merits of Christ, yet good works are necessary in order to obtain eternal life. With regard to ceremonies, it was ordered, that images should be retained as examples to the people, but idolatry and the abuse of them, was to be guarded against. Saints were to be honored as examples of holy life and the helpers of our pra^'crs ; with this view they were to be called on, but not worshipped. Many ceremo- nies, as the use of holy water, ashes, palms, &c. were to be retained as typical signs ; and prayers for the dead were enjoined, though the existence of purgatory is doubted. It may also be noted, that no mention is made of the other four sacra- ments, though the use of them is inculcated in several of the doctrinal works which were sub- sequently published during this reign.* * Bishop Short's History of the Church of England, chap. v. §206. 64 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Immediately after the publication of these articles, Cromwell, the lord vicegerent, by order of the king, issued a proclamation, giving various directions to the clergy, the most important of which were these; — the laws against the pope's supremacy, and the authority of the king in the Church, were to be faithfully set forth : super- stition was to be discountenanced, and the peo- ple taught to obey God's commandments, as more acceptable to Him than pilgrimages and worshipping of relics : Bibles, in Latin and English, were to be set up in the churches, and the people encouraged to read them :* children * It is, perhaps, scarcely possible for us to imagine the eagerness with which the people availed themselves of the liberty thus offered them, by the repeated declarations of the king, to consult the Sacred Volume for themselves. The impatience they manifested may, in part, be ascribed to mere curiosity. Men were naturally anxious to examine the writings which had been for ages so jealously locked up from their inspection. Nothing, however, but a higher motive, can account for the imiversal rush to the fountain of living waters, the moment it was unsealed. Every one that could, purchased the book : and if he was unable to read it himself, he got his neighbor to read it to him. Numbers might be seen flocking to the lower end of the church and forming a little congregation round the Scripture reader. Many persons, far advanced in life, actually learned to read, for the express purpose of searching the oracles of God : and one instance has been recorded of a poor boy, only fifteen years of age, who voluntarily incurred the same toil, and then joined his stock with a brother apprentice for the purchase of a Testament, ROYAL PROCLAMATION. 65 were to be brought up honestly a.nd rehgiously, being taught the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, m the mother tongue : and restrictions were imposed upon non-resi- dents, who were required to devote a portion of their income to charitable purposes, and also were to supply proper curates. The sound sense and practical wisdom of these directions are evident, without remark, and none, we think, can fail to see that, though not wholly satisfac- tory to either party, their tone is clearly in favor of reform. I -During the summer of this year, (1536,) con- siderable progress was made in the dissolution of the monasteries. Many of the larger ones were voluntarily surrendered, to be dealt with as the king or the commissioners might direct, it beino- very certain that ultimately they would share the «ame fate with those included m the bill recently passed. There was an evil, how- ever, connected with the breaking up of the monastic establishments, which soon led to seri- which he concealed under the bed-straw, and perused at stolen moments, imdisraaycd by the rcproaclies of his mother and the brutal violence of his father.— Le Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. i. p. 142. 4* 66 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. ous and even alarming results. Large numbers of persons, by the dissolution of these houses, were thrown suddenly upon the world, unpro- vided for, unemployed, and exposed to hard- ships of no ordinary kind. Many of these, as was natural, induced by passion, and frequently urged on by necessity, sought to excite commo- tions among the people against the government. A formidable rising took place in the north of England, which, in consequence of the standards having on them representations of the five wounds of Christ and of the cross, was termed the Pil- grimage of Grace. It was discovered that the •abbeys and monasteries, yet existing, had been very active, in an underhand wa}^, in this serious disturbance, had supplied means to the insur- gents, had stirred up the minds of the people, had fomented discord, and had striven as far as possible, to drive the disaffected into acts of positive and open rebellion. Hence it became manifest, that so long as these strong-holds of popery existed, it would be impossible to expect reformation in religion or quiet in the state. Accordingly, for this reason, combined with the others which have been mentioned as influencing the king and court in the case of the smaller Corruptions and imposture. G7 monasteries, a new visitation was ordered, pre- paratory to a complete dissolution of all the re- ligious houses in England. The visitors entered upon their work and pro- secuted it with zeal and diligence, and it may be that occasionally they displayed too great severity and harshness ; but having been charged with re- ceiving bribes,* they, in retaliation, laid open to public gaze the corruptions and abominations which their visit had brought to light. A most sad and pitiable catalogue it was indeed ! imposture the most gross, profligacy the most disgusting, ly- ing relics of the most preposterous description, were discovered ; such as the Virgin Mary's gir- dle, exhibited by eleven distinct monasteries ; the ear of Malchus, cut off by St. Peter ; the teeth of St. Apollonia, (infallible cures for tooth-ache,) enough in number, when collected, to fill a tun ; some of the coals which had once blazed under the gridiron of St. Lawrence ; the spear-head which had pierced our Saviour's side, brought over from Palestine by an angel of one wing ; some of the Saviour's blood preserve'd in a phial, which to the faithful appeared of a bright red hue, but to all * Bp. Short, (Hist. c. v. §211,) thinks that there is good ground for this charorp. *L 68 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Others onl}^ dark and cheerless ; the old boots and tattered shirt of that factious demagogue, Thomas a Becket, and many similar absurd and despica- ble odds-and-ends of imposture and deceit. One of these villainous devices to rob and cheat the people of their money, and delude their souls to destruction, was laid open at St. Paul's Cross, in London, by order of Cromwell ; it was termed the Rood of Grace, and was meant as an image of our Saviour. It would hang its lip when silver was offered to it, and shake its beard merrilvwhen the offering was of gold, much to the astonish- ment of the simple populace. When taken to pieces, the wires and secret springs by which its eyes and lips were moved, showed to what length of lying deception on the one hand, and of credu- lity on the other, men went at that period, as well as with what shameless audacity the monks and clergy of the popish part}^ endeavored to maintain their power over the people. Happil}' we are enabled to sa}^, that all the mo- nastic estabhshments and religious houses were not hopelessly sunk in corruption, or engaged in despicable intrigue or deceit ; no, it would be equally unjust and ungenerous not to give the due meed of praise to some, if not many of the con- vents, where real devotion and sound morality MONASTERIES WHY DISSOLVED. 69 were found to exist ; where liberal hospitality and munificent acts of charity marked the course of the members, and won for them the love, respect and confidence of the community, but more es- pecially of the common people. There can be no reasonable doubt that the destruction of the monasteries was essential to the progress of the Reformation ; it was felt to be almost hopeless to expect to spread the truth to any extent, while so many emissaries of the pope stood ready to destroy the good which might be wrought, and to pluck up the seeds of truth which might be sown in the hearts of the people; and w^hile the strong-holds of supersti- tion and fraud existed in all their power and influence throughout the country. Their fall was, therefore, necessary, and in great measure just. Most of them had shamefully perverted the wealth left for pious and charitable purposes to mere self-indulgence and scandalous lusts and passions. Yet we mean not to justify some of the steps which were taken, far less to approve of the motives of a rapacious king and court. Henry coveted the wealth of the monasteries, and being absolute, he determined to have it. Though in point of right he had no claim what- ever to the property left by pious individuals 70 REFORMATION IN ENGI^LAND. for the sake of charity to men's souls and bodies, still, he longed to grasp it. He was willing to compromise in some respects with his conscience, in this meditated wholesale robbery, by employ- ing a part — a very small part as it turned out — in founding bishoprics and institutions of public benefit. The greedy courtiers at his side urged him on, well knowing that they should be sharers in the spoils ; and a subservient and pliant par- liament passed acts which put into the king's hands the immense resources of the abbeys and convents. Had Henry, as in duty bound, de- voted this great wealth to the use, or to a similar use with that intended by the donors, he would have deserved the grateful thanks of all lovers of truth and learning ; but so far from this he squandered it in his own sensual pleasures and on his eager dependants ; he broke up the houses which had been time-honored as the home of the weary and way-faring man, the supporters of the orphan and the friendless, the benefactors of the poor, the depositories of knowledge ;* he * They had been the alms-houses, where the aged dependants of more opulent families, the decrepid servant or decayed artificer retired as to a home neither uncomfortable nor humiliating ; they had been county infirmaries and dispensaries ; they had been found- ling asylums, relieving the state of many orphan and outcast chil- GOOD AND EVIL OF MONASTERIES. 71 scattered in every direction thousands of helpless persons, pensioned, it is true, but most inade- quately, and unfitted for the ordinary pursuits of life ; he sent abroad over the country multitudes of persons who, driven on by want, or by brood- ing over their hard lot, were ready to engage in any plans, however wrong, to avenge themselves on the government ; he changed the for the most part easy landlord which the monks proved to be, for a frequently hard and griping master, who, scarcely visiting his ill-gotten lands, cared not for the tenants' woe or weal. He refused to listen to the earnest entreaty of the Reformers, who desired that some of the abbeys might be converted into institutions of learning, or, as good Hugh Latimer prayed, might be turned into houses for " preaching, study and prayer : " and though, by the dissolution of a thousand or more convents, large and small, he became possessed of wealth to the amount of nearly a million dollars per annum, he contented himself, and put off the supplications of Cranmer and his colleagues by expending only about one-twentieth of that dren, and ministering to their necessities ; tliey had been inns for the way -faring man ; they filled up the gap in which the public libraries have since stood, &c. — See Blunt's Sketch of the Refor- mation in England, p. 142. 4^ 72 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. vast income in the foundation of five bishoprics, several chapters, and two colleges, one at Oxford and one at Cambridge.* While, therefore, we regret deeply the per- version of the wealth of the dissolved monas- teries to mere temporal uses, we cannot but acknowledge that the Reformation, by this bold step of Henry's, acquired a strength and activity which, under God, was sure to eventuate in the best results ; and though we are far enough from approving of the motives of the king and court in what the}^ did, still we feel that in this, as in most cases, God, in His mercy, brings good out of evil. * Henry, with all the wealth which passed through his hands, was so improvident that, before the end of hisreign, he had recourse to that dishonest and most impolitic measure of debasing his coin. — Bishop Short, (Hist c. v. §249.) CHAPTER III. A. D. 1539—1547. State of things at this date — popish schemes — martyrs — John Lambert — proclamation against marriage of priests — act of Six Articles — abstract of them — Latimer and Shaxton resign their bishoprics — effect of the articles — birth of Edward — death of the Queen — Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves — disgraceful termination of the match — Cromwell's fall — Romish ascendancy — Cranmer's Bible — Gardiner's scheme to nullify the English version — new Queen — Anne Askew — her martyrdom — difficul- ties and trials of the Reformers — Litany in English — King's Primer — close of Henry's reign — evils of the Reformation — en- couragements in prospect — advances made — Henry's death and character — reflections on God's providence. Thus far, it is manifest that the Reformation was, on the whole, advancing steadily and surely. The Scriptures had been published by authority, the monasteries had been dissolved, and the va- rious corruptions and superstitions which they 74: REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. fostered and kept alive, had been laid open to public gaze, and the people, as they read and heard, began to think and to feel, in measure at least, and began to know somewhat of their spiri- tual wants and of the Fountain of living waters from which they might freely draw for their soul's comfort and refreshment. The popish party, however, with Gardiner, the unprincipled bishop of Winchester, at their head, by flattering the king's vanity and paying court to him very assidu- ously, managed to check for a time the onward progress of reform. They did not dare to oppose him openly and honestly, for that would be certain death, but complying with every thing that he set his mind on, whether they liked it or not, they managed to keep in his good graces, and had op- portunity to suggest measures which would bear hard on the Reformers and the truths which they preached. The consequence of this was, that Henry thinking himself called on to maintain his supremacy in Church as well as state, did several things which deeply grieved Cranmer and his as- sociates in the good cause, and made the papists exult in the success of their schemes. The first step was to light up the fire of perse- cution. Some years before, several martyrs had suffered for denial of popish errors, especially that MARTYRS JOHN LAMBERT. 75 one which caused more deaths than any other, viz., transubstantiation. Bilney, a clergyman of Cambridge, B}- field, a monk, Tewksbury, a citi- zen of London, and others were burnt as relapsed heretics. Bainham, a lawyer, Harding, Hewett, a young tailor, and Frith, a young man of note for le"arning and piety, were burnt for denying the '* corporal presence," or transubstantiation. And now, in 1538, another was added to the list. John Lambert, who had been chaplain to the English company at Antwerp, and intimate with T^^ndale, the translator and printer of the New Testament, was arrested, brought before the king, whom Gar- diner stirred up to cruelty, and after being inhu- manly insulted and abused by the royal disputant, was delivered over to be burnt at Smithfield, his last words being " none but Christ, none but Christ." As Henry had zealously maintained transubstantiation in his book against Luther, he seems tohave felt it incumbent on him to burn and destroy all who doubted or denied this dogma ; and accordinolv we find that as in this so in other cases, he scrupled not to pursue to the extreme all who had the courage to differ from the rehgion adopted by the king. The next thing which showed the influence of the haters of the Reformation, was the issuing of 76 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. a proclamation which reprobated the marriage of priests, and prohibited those who dared to marry from performing -any sacred office, under pain of losing all their ecclesiastical privileges. The triumph of the papal party, however, was evident in what took place in the parliament of this year, April, 1539, when the famous act of the Six Articles, as it is called, was passed and be- came a law, despite the vigorous and eloquent op- position of Cranmer. These -articles were pro- posed by the duke of Norfolk, the great patron of papal opinions, and were to the following effect : — 1st, That in the sacrament of the altar, after the consecration, there remaineth no substance of bread and wine, but under these forms the natural body and blood of Christ are present. 2nd, That communion, in both kinds, is not ne- cessary to salvation to all persons, b}'- the law of God ; but that both the flesh and blood of Christ are together in each of the kinds. 3rd, That priests, after the order of priesthood, may not marry by the law of God. 4th, That vows of chastity ought to be ob- served, by the law of God. 5th, That the use of private masses ought to be continued, which, as it is agreeable to God's law, so men receive great benefit thereby. SIX ARTICLES. 77 Gth, That auricular confession is expedient and necessary, and ouG^ht to be retained in the Church. The penakies by which these Articles were enforced were extremely cruel and harsh. Burn- ing at the stake, imprisonment for life, loss of goods and chattels, &c., were the punishments for speaking against, or opposing in any way, the te- nets set forth in the Articles; and so rejoiced were the opponents of reform that they went to work at once, and soon brought great numbers to answer for their violations of the law now in force. Good old Hugh Latimer, bishop of Worcester, and Shaxton, bishop of Salisbury, whose con- sciences would not let them subscribe to what they were convinced w^as error,and superstition, imme- diately resigned their bishoprics, and soon after were thrown into prison for imprudently speaking against the Six Articles. Latimer remained there till Henry's death. Cranmer, who entertained sentiments almost extravagantly high, respecting the power of the king in matters of religion, re- tained his post, though he had earnestly and at the risk of his life contended against the new law\ He was obliged also to send away privately his wife, whom he had married in Germany, pre- viously to his elevation to the see of Canterbur}^ in order that she might remain in her native t78 reformation in England. country , out of harm's way, so long as this cruelly severe act continued in force. In general, how- ever, owing to the powerful influence of Crom- well in favor of the Reformers, and the difficul- ties in the way of enforcing the penalties to any great extent, the act of the Six Articles did not fall so heavily as might have been expected upon the cause of truth and virtue. ■ Queen Jane Seymour died in giving birth to Edward, afterwards Edward VI., in October, 1537. She was deeply lamented by Henry, as much so as any one could be by such a man, and for some time he seemed to have been sobered by her loss. But he soon tired of a solitary life and resolved again to marry. Accordingly, on repre- sentations of the beauty and charms of a foreign princess, he made proposals which were accepted, and in January, 1540, he was married to Anne ofCleves, the sister of a distinguished Protestant leader on the continent. As this match proved extremely distasteful to the king, he was not a lit- tle angry at Cromwell who had been the principal agent in bringing it about, and he determined, with that recklessness which marked his whole course as far as obligations were concerned, to annul the marriage. This was soon after done, through the pitiable subserviency of the parlia- INDISCRIMINATE CRUELTY. 7i^ ment and the convocation, and Anne was pen-^ sioned off on <£3,000 ($15,000,) a-year, appa- rently to her entire satisfaction ; while on Crom- well fell the weight of Henry's wrath and vin- dictiveness. He was sent to the Tower, hated by the nobility as an upstart, was deserted by all his friends except Cranmer — who never forsook a friend in need — and beheaded, July, 28th, 1540. The death of this great man and able minister, was a serious blow to the cause of the Reforma- tion, for he had ever been its constant supporter and friend, and had aided materially in advan- cing its interests. His unrighteous condemnation was not the least disgraceful and odious among the criminal acts of Henry's reign. The following month, August 8th, the king was married to Catharine Howard, niece of the duke of Norfolk, the head of the papal party in England ; an event which strengthened the hands of the opponents of reformation and enabled them to use the capricious monarch's present anger to the injury of the cause of truth. The spirit of persecution was let loose, and numerous martyrs bore testimony at the stake for the faith of the Gospel ; 3^et, strange to say, the king's cruelty was as indiscriminate as it was uncalled for. " Traitors and sacramentaries — the friends of I ■■^O REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. , the papal authority and the enemies of the papal / doctrine — were dragged on the same hurdle to the gibbet or the stake;" and frequently the same day and place witnessed the execution of Romish martyrs, denying the royal supremacy, and of Protestant confessors, refusing to beheve the royal creed. In May, 1541, the Bible was printed in the form of a large folio, and being enriched with a noble preface by the archbishop, was known as Ci'anmer^s Bible, It was ordered to be set up in all the churches, on the penalty of forty shillings a month for every church which should neglect the royal ordinance, The " Necessary Erudition of a Christian Man" was also prepared at this time, though it was not published till two 3^ears after. These steps in favor of reform were not at all agreeable to the popish adherents : consequently, strenuous efforts were made in the convocation to suppress the English Bible, against which ob- jections were raised on the charge of its being an incorrect version of the original. Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, the most subtle, acute, and determined enemy of the Reformation, hit upon a plan to destroy the value of the translation almost entirely to the English reader. This was. Gardiner's scheme. 81 by retaining a great number of words (a hundred or more,) just as they are in the original Hebrew and Greek, and in the Latin version, without translating them, but only putting them into En- glish letters ; such as jpai'asceve, the preparation ; holocausta^ whole burnt-offering ; simulacrum, an image ; po?itifex, chief priest ; idiota, unlearned or ignorant man ; &c. Had this notable scheme succeeded, the English Bible would have still been in great measure in an unknown tongue to the people — -just the very thing which the papists wished then, just what they wish now, because it is next to impossible where the Bible is allowed to be read freely, in the language understood by all, to blind the eyes and sear the consciences of Christians, so as to make them believe and trust in the lying abominations of Romish corruption. Happily Cranmer succeeded in defeating this scheme, and the revision of the Bible was ordered to be committed to the universities ; thus, in the language of quaint old Thomas Fuller, the Church historian, " saving it from the policy of Gardiner, who, being unable to extinguish the light, was for putting it into a dark lantern." The late queen, Catharine Howard, having been beheaded on account of criminal lewdness and licentious conduct previously to her elevation 5 82 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. to the throne, Henry, in 1543, was again married to Catharine Parr, a lady whose principles were settled and decidedly in favor of the Reformation. In every way possible, sometimes even to the risk of her life, through the jealous vanity and wrong-headedness of the king, she favored the views and helped forward the plans of the arch- bishop. But as the king was now easily wrought upon to do evil, it was not difficult to find a victim for his cruelty. A young, talented and beautiful lady, by name, Anne Askew, and much in the queen's favor, was easily entangled in the meshes of the net which Gardiner and his accom- phces cast for heretical denial of tr an substantia- tion. She was tried and convicted, as a matter of course, since there was no way of escape on such a question. She was not immediately ex- ecuted, but, after a short respite, was again apprehended, and again went through the ordeal of hard words and papistical abuse. Her appeal to the king is affecting and well worth perusal : — " I, Anne Askew, of good memory, aldiough God hath given me the bread of adversity and the water of trouble, yet not so much as my sins have deserved, desire this to be known unto your Grace, that forasmuch as I am by the law condemned for an evil doer, here I take heaven ANNE ASKEW. 83 and earth to record, that I shall die in my inno- cency. And, according to that I have said first, and will say last, I utterly abhor and detest all heresies. And, as concerning the Supper of the Lord, I believe so much as Christ has said therein, which He confirmed with His most blessed blood. I believe so much as He willed me to follow, and so much as the Catholic Church of Him doth teach ; for I will not forsake the commandment of His holy life. But look, what God hath charged me with His mouth, that have I shut up in my heart. And thus briefly I end for lack of learning." Had not Henry's heart been steeled against compassion, he could not have resisted this ap- peal ; but he yielded not ; and the noble lady having been ignominiously racked by no less persons than Chancellor Wriothesly and lord Rich, who, with their own hands, performed this devilish office, was brought out to die a martyr's death. Bravely did she sustain the trial ; cheer- fully and full of hope did she endure the flames and pass to her eternal award. Several attempts were made to entrap the queen, and the archbishop ; but providentially they were defeated, and Cranmer still continued his unremitting labors in the good cause. Various 84 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. superstitious practices in force at this period were corrected by him in a visitation held in the autumn of 1543, such, for instance, as bell-ringing and sprinkling holy water to still the thunder and drive away the devil ; using holy candles and incantations, and pouring red hot coals on the grave of the archbishop's chaplain, to show what he deserved for favoring the Reformation, &c. About the same time the capricious king, who was now guided more by circumstances and passion than anything else, forbade under heavy penalties the reading of the Scriptures, except by persons of a certain rank : 3'et it is remarkable, and seems clearty to point out the hand of divine Providence, that Henry would listen to no charges against Cranmer, who was constantly attacked by the papal party, and could easily have been convicted under the act of the Six Articles. Even those who were under deep obligations to the archbishop were concerned in these plots, but they were freel}^ forgiven by him — so freely and so fully that it became a common saying, that *' if you do my lord of Canterbur}^ an ill turn you make him your friend for life." In the midst of these many and sore trials, the untiring archbishop toiled on. His hands were somewhat strengthened by the advancement LITANY king's PRIMER. 85 of several of the Reformers to the bench, and he drew up this year (1544) a Litany in EngHsh, with suffrages or responses, corresponding almost entirely with that contained in our Prayer Book ; the invocation of saints and angels, however, was retained, and a clause for deliverance " from the bishop of Rome and all his detestable enor- mities." To this work, psalms and private de- votions were added, and in the preface the utility of private prayer in the mother tongue is strongly insisted on. In the following year a collection of prayers was published, which were drawn up by the queen herself. Cranmer also succeeded in gaining the king's consent for the suppression of all images in the churches, and for prohibiting the superstitious practice of veiling the cross in Lent, and kneeling and creeping to the same. He also published the King's Primer in English, with some Psalms and Lessons out of the New Testament, which gave great offence to the pa- pists, and they publicly burned the book. The remainder of Henry's reign presents little that need be dwelt upon. The cause of truth al- ternately favored and oppressed, was, on the whole, progressive ; though in its course it was marred and hindered Ij-y weakness, w^ickedness, folly, fanaticism and deadly opposition. Martyrs 86 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. were brought to the stake for opinions the most various and contradictory ; fanatics traversed the country, exciting to sedition and wild lawlessness of sentiment and practice ; there were Predesti- narians, Antinomians, Anabaptists, Fifth-monar- chy men, Arians, Davidians, Libertines, and ma- nifold others ; irreverence and shocking levity prevailed more or less ; churches and religious houses were profaned by dogs, horses and other creatures, and plundered without scruple ; igno- rant teachers, blind leaders of the blind, only excited contempt and scorn ; and alehouses were filled with conceited disputants who, over their cups, talked of the mysteries of faith and the deep things of God with shameless audacity, and dissolute scoffers made songs upon these sacred subjects. Such were some of the excesses, the deplora- ble excesses arising from the overturning of the old system of corruption which had disgraced the world for centuries : yet still we say, the cause of truth was making advances slowly and painfully, yet certainly. Not only had the papal supremacy been destroyed, and many of the abominations of popery put down by the civil authority ; but, what was better, the Scriotures of truth had been laid open ; the Bible and the three Creeds had been THINGS YET TO BE DONE. 87 declared to be the rule of faith ; copies of it were in circulation throughout the kingdom ; the litany was published ; a portion of Holy Writ was read in divine service ; the children were to be in- structed in every parish in the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and men were beginning to look at truth through the me- dium of Gospel light and to embrace it for its own sake, even though it led to the gibbet or the stake. All this was much gained, it must be confessed, though much, very much remained to be done before the Church could put on the garments of rejoicing, or the truth of God shine forth with un- clouded lustre. The act of the Six Articles was still in force ; auricular confession was still bound upon the consciences of the people; transubstan- tiation was still the doctrine of the standards of the Church ; the mass, or public service, was still mostly in Latin ; the celibacy of the clergy was still enforced ; the cup was still denied to the lai- ty, and the power of the ecclesiastical courts was still continued in all its oppressiveness and bigot- ry ; nevertheless the way was opening by which these burdens and evils and errors could be re- moved ; the leaven of truth was working power- fully, and ere long its effects were gloriously to be manifested. 88 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Henry VIII. died January 27th, 1547, after a reign of about thirty-seven years. Possessed of good abihties and well read for the time in which he lived, and naturally of noble and generous dispositions, he became through evil influences and unbridled indulgence, a self-willed and haughty tyrant, a licentious king, a cruel and hard-hearted man. He put no restraint upon his passions ; he was fickle, capricious, vain, over- bearing, and ungrateful ; and so determined was he when his heart was set upon an object, that neither heaven nor hell were sufficient to turn him from his purpose. We can have no sympathy with him as a man, we detest him as a tyrant, and we utterly abhor his licentious despotism. Still, let it be observed how God brings about the accomplishment of His purposes, even by the agency of such instruments as Henry VIII. A king less unscrupulous and more honorable never would have forced a divorce from so patient and sorrowing a wife as Katharine of Arragon, yet the consequence of this was the ruin of the pope's supremacy ;* a king more upright and less grasp- * This (his supremacy in Cliurch as well as state,) was, in fact, Henry's own most passionate desire. It was well that it was so, or Protestantism might never have been established as it was in his great daughter's reign. He had himself no regard for the tnith in HENRY S DEATH AND CHARACTER. 89 ing after money, not for money's sake, but to gra- tify his lusts and passions, never would have ven- tured to crush the monastic establishments, the bulwarks of popery and the grand engines of its power and credit among the people. These things anything he did. The Gospel light as little beamed on him from Boleyn's laughing eyes, when she was about to mount his bed, as from her serene and patient look when she was about to mount his scaffold. The Gospel light has nothing to do with lust, has no sym- pathy for satisfied cruelty, takes no regard of personal interests, sheds no virtue upon ambitious passions, and could find in the whole huge bulk of Henry not a crevice or a corner into which it might cast even one of its diviner rays. Yet who, save Henry, could have done what the time cried out for ? What, save his reckless bru- tality could have discharged that painful but imperative work? Who could have so thrust down the monasteries and hunted out the priests? Who would have dared, save he, to cram his own exche- quer with their enormous revenues? Above all, what prince or priest, acting sincerely as a reformer of the faith and a champion of Luther's doctrines, could have done what was so absolutely needful al the first flinging down of the national allegiance to Rome ; could have kept in resolute check both Protestant and (Ro- man) Catholic ; could have persecuted with an equal hand the Romanist and the Lutheran ; could have passed as "an adherent to Catholic doctrines, while he spurned the papal authority, and have loudly declared his passion for transubstantiation, while he still more loudly shouted forth his abhorrence of submission to a court at Rome I Be it assuredly believed, that all was more wisely ordered than the mere wisdom of ordinary policy could presume to have foreseen. Tiiis broad and vicious body of Henry the Eighth was as the bridge between the old and the new religions. — Foster's Introduction to The Statesmen of the Commonwealth of England, p. xix. 5* •' 90 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Henry did, and we are reaping the advantages of what was then begun. Let us bless God for the merciful deliverance from popish chains of darkness and superstition, even though it was done by such an instrument ; and as we think of the trials of fire and blood through which our fa- thers passed, let us resolve to hold fast to the truth in its integrity, and rather die than betray the in- terests of Christ and His Church. CHAPTER IV. A. D. 1547— 1549. Edward VI.— his high and noble character— Cranmer's position and wishes — Edward Seymour, lord protector— his character — spoli- ations of church property — evils of rash zeal — images destroyed in churches — general visitation — necessity of it — First Book of HomiUes— Gardiner and Bonner in trouble— act for communion in both kinds— Six Article act repealed— chantries, chapels, &.C., given to royal treasury — miages ordered to be entirely removed — revision of the liturgy— proceedings of the committee— Cranmer's catechism— First Book of king Edward VI.— how it differs from the present Book of Common Prayer— its value not to be denied. Edward VI., at the time of his ascending the throne, was in his tenth year, a fair and lovely boy, giving promise of great and good thmgs. Naturally amiable and kind, and through his mo- ther, connected with a family devoted to reform 92 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. in the Church, he was so blessed as to be placed under most excellent instructors, who fostered every thing good in him, who poured into his mind every thing ennobling and elevating, and who, at last, so trained him up in learning and godliness, that he w^as the wonder of his day for mental and spiritual culture, and has come down to us with his fair name unstained by aught of folly or crime.* But his was no crown of ease : the in- heritance left to him was attended with cares and anxieties, well nigh too heavy for the young king to bear : the prospect before him was marked by hard and bitter contentions, by the wrangling of parties, by the suffering of the Church, by the * Cardan, a distinguished Italian philosopher, wlio was in Eng- land at this time, saw and conversed with Edward, and after that prince's deatli, wrote thus of him : — " All the graces were in him : he had many tongues when he was yet but a child : together with the English, his natural tongue, he had both Latin and French, nor was ho ignorant, as I hear, of the Greek, Italian and Spanish, and perhaps some more : but for the English, French and Latin, he was exact in them, and was apt to learn every thing : nor was he igno- rant of logic, of the principles of natural philosophy, nor of music. The sweetness of his temper was such as became a mortal — his gravity becoming the majesty of a king, and his disposition was suitable to his high degree. In sum, that child was so bred, had such parts, and was of such expectation, that he looked like a miracle of a man. These things are not spoken rhetorically and beyond the truth, but are indeed short of it." EDWARD S CHARACTER. 93 Struggles of the truth against opposing error. Nevertheless, he neither wished, nor was able, had he wished, to draw back; and from all the evidences which are left to us, we find that Ed- ward was fittinghimself for the heavy duties and responsibilities of king of England, by a course of discipline of mind and heart, which, had it pleased God to lengthen his life, would doubtless have led to the happiest results. The young king was proclaimed January 31st, 1547, four da3^s after his father's death. By Henry's will, archbishop Cranmer was appointed to a prominent station in the council of direction during the minority of the king : but as well from choice as from a desire to look to the affairs of the Church, at this period in no little danger, he took but small share in mere matters of state. His great aim and object was, now that every thing was so favorable for carrying out the principles of the Reformation, to proceed temperately yet vi- gorously in ridding the Church of errors and cor- ruptions which still marred its beauty and fair proportions, and in setting forth the truth of God in all its purity and integrity. In consequence of this disposition on the part of the archbishop, he was led to the more thorouQ:h examination of se- veral points in dispute between the Reformers and 94 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. papists, and we find, that subsequently to the last year of Henry's reign, he steadily maintained the doctrines which the Church of England has ever since held, particularly with respect to the sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper. Ridley and Lati- mer had previously renounced transubstantiation, and from this date these noble men and servants of the Most High labored, with most entire una- nimity, in the cause of their Divine Master. The council very early appointed Edward Sey- mour, the earl of Hertford, governor of the king's person and Lord Protector; he was also created duke of Somerset. Being the maternal uncle of Edward, and a warm friend to the Reformation, he was enabled to be of essential service to the cause of truth, and we find that he joined heart and hand with Cranmer in the work of reform, and restoration of primitive soundness and order. It is not to be concealed, however, that Somerset was one of the largest sharers in the spoil of Church property, and that he did not scruple to join with the ungodly and the profane in taking that to which he certainly had no just claim ; all this, too, despite the earnest and indignant re- monstrances and entreaties of the Reformers. But, in truth, this was the course pursued by all who could in any way get hold of ecclesiastical CHURCH SPOLIATION. 95 revenues : every one plundered the Church with impunity ; from the king and parhament down to the meanest servant of some lucky courtier, there was a longing desire after the untold wealth of monasteries, bishoprics, deaneries, prebends, chantries, &c.,* and it was thought a hard case for those about court, if they could not lay hands on that which had been left, with an awful impre- cation against its spoilers, for the cause of religion and the maintenance of the clergy. Sad are we to say it, but the Church of England has never fully recovered from the injuries then inflicted upon her. In a previous chapter we have spoken of the violent reaction which took place when popery was suddenly broken up, and men's minds were set loose from the thraldom in which they had so long been held, and of the excesses, the disgrace- ful excesses, which had taken place in conse- quence. Hardly had this reign commenced, * Bp. Burnet says, that it was ordinary at that time, for laymen to hold preferments without cure of souls. Protector Somerset had six good prebends promised him, two of these being afterwards con- verted into a deanery and treasurership. Lord Cromwell had been dean of Wells, Sir Thomas Smith, who was in deacon's orders, though living a§ a layman, was dean of Carlisle. Numerous other instances of this scandalous irreverence and church spoliation might be enumerated. 96 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. when the evil effects of rash zeal began again to be manifest. Many persons, enemies of the old superstition, without waiting for authority, and knowing that images were condemned by the Reformers, thought that they were doing good service by tumultuously proceeding to destroy them in the churches in London, and elsewhere. This they did, to a large extent, until severe measures were resorted to for stopping their lawless doings. But not only in respect to the pulling down of images and defacing shrines, and making havoc of the ornaments in churches, but also in various other things, the same spirit of rashness and hot haste, gave rise to much trouble and discord ; so that, Cranmer and his associates were, at times, in as much danger of making shipwreck through the injudicious zeal of hasty and thoughtless allies, as through the open and violent opposition of the favorers of Rome. This will be exemplified as we go on. One of the earliest steps taken by Cranmer for the good of the Church, was the obtaining a general visitation throughout the realm, for the purpose of regulating all such matters as required notice and change. This was especially neces- sary, because of the fact, that the clergy, as a body, were uneducated, and much disposed to EVILS TO BE REMEDIED. 97 retain the superstitions and corruptions of Rome ; so that the truth was hindered in its onward progress by the want of learned, faithful and active parish priests, who should not only have knowledge sufficient, but should be able and wilUng to communicate it by preaching to the people. Nor only so; the people themselves, too generally grossly ignorant, and both by habit and long standing custom, attached to the notions and practices in vogue for hundreds of years past, were far from being as ready to embrace the doctrines of the Gospel in their purity and simphcity, as might, at first sight, be imagined ; and as, when the monasteries were broken up, many hundreds of monks were scattered over the country in all directions, these teachers of popery kept ahve the flame, stirred up dissatis- faction, and wherever possible, filled the vacan- cies in the poorer parishes, it is manifest that the Reformation was greatly impeded, and its real object shamefully spoken against. The archbishop and his assistants in the great work, were desirous, as far as possible, to remedy these serious evils, and to draw away the minds of the people from the bad influence of papistical instructors. For this purpose, the First Book of Homilies was composed, and published in July, 98 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. of the present year, (1547) and Erasmus's Para- phrase of the New Testament was ordered to be set up m every parish church, in order to assist the unlearned in understanding Holy Scrip- ture. The bishops also were enjoined not only to preach themselves, but to take care that their chaplains did so, and to admit none to holy orders who were not well qualified for the sacred office, especially in that point then so needful, viz. abihty to preach and maintain the doctrines of the Reformation. The Homilies, it may here be observed, were probably in great part com- posed by Cranmer, with the aid of Ridley, Latimer, Becon, and others, and while there was so great scarcity of persons able to preach the reformed faith, that the people, nevertheless, should not suffer, these excellent and timely dis- courses were commanded to be read in the churches. Several other wholesome regulations were likewise enjoined. The political successes of the protector and his party gave them additional weight in the community, and enabled them to push forward vigorously the measures of reform. Not a little opposition, however, was excited among the op- ponents of Cranmer and the steps he judged needful to the cause of God's truth. Both Gar- ACTS OF CONVOCATION. 99 diner, bishop of Winchester, of whose character and principles we have spoken freely already, and Bonner, bishop of London, well known to posterity by his horrid cruelty in the reign of Mary and his shameless tergiversations, objected to the introduction of the Homilies and the Para- phrase. As their opposition went to considerable length, they were sent to prison on the charge of disobedience to the ro3^al injunctions. It is sup- posed, and with reason we think, that they were treated with uncalled for severity. Parliament met in November ; at the same time the convocation assembled, and by direction of Cranmer, w^ho was extremely active and zeal- ous, entered heartily upon the consideration of the affairs of the Church. An. ordinance "for the receiving the body of our Lord under both kinds, namely, of bread and wine," was unani- mously adopted by this body, and soon after was sanctioned by parliament. By this statute, the abuses of communion in one kind, and of solitary masses, were put a stop to, a matter of very great importance, as it deprived the priest of the tremendous power which he exercised, under the papal system, and rendered the people more alive to their personal concern in the sacraments and services of the Church. It also provided that 100 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. persons who spoke irreverently or contemptously of the blessed Eucharist, should be punished by fine and imprisonment, at the pleasure of the king : this step was taken in consequence of the licentiousness of speech every where prevalent, since men were rid of the terror of papal infalli- bility, and thought that there was no longer any thing sacred or solemn in religion. The repeal of the act of the Six Articles, that whip of scorpions, as it has been termed, was among the first things done by this parliament ; and they did not stop here ; but went on to repeal all the penal acts relating to " doctrine and matters of religion," which had rendered the latter portion of Henry's reign so full of persecu- tion and bloodshed. These wise and judicious measures were very seasonable helps to the arch- bishop and his co-workers, and encouraged them to go on in the accomplishment of their momen- tous labors. Parliament also passed an act giving to the king chantries, free chapels, col- leges, and whatever other Church property had escaped the grasping rapacity of Henry VIU. and his greedy court. Cranmer vigorously op- posed this iniquitous measure, but all in vain. The men of that day, with hardly an exception, seemed to be wholly reckless as to the wants of BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 101 the Church, and the absolute need of temporal provision for the support of a learned and ef- ficient body of clergy. The year 1548 opened with several very im- portant movements towards the reformation of religious matters. An order in council was issued for the entire removal of images and shrines from the chui'ches, and for the suppression of many superstitious ceremonies ; and the clergy were required to preach against pilgrimages and image worship. At the same time severe penalties were threatened against all such as abused or treated improperly the houses of God, which, we are grieved to say, had been disgraced on various occasions by scenes of riot and confusion; and none were allowed to make rash innovations, and interfere with such things as were still accordins: to the laws of the realm. In February, a committee was appointed for the purpose of revising the Liturgy, and arranging in some uniform system the public worship and services of the Church; a step which calls for especial notice on our part, because it was the beginning of Aat great work which resulted finally in the compilation of the Book of Common Prayer. The committee began with that which was the most urgent, viz., the service for the 102 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Communion, in which alteration was greatly needed because of the clearer and more correct views which the Reformers had begun to enter- tain since they doubted and denied the truth of transubstantiation. Questions, to the number of ten, were proposed and answers in writing re- quired : these may be seen in bishop Burnet's large History of the Reformation, and are not only interesting in themselves, but will manifest the great care which was taken in all that w^as done by the bishops and doctors of the Church, for the restoration of purity and order. On the eighth of March, the Communion Office was published : in substance it is nearly the same as that in the Prayer Book of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Cranmer seems to have gone on the principle of making as few changes as possible, retaining whatever was innocent in the service of the mass, and leaving some portions of it untranslated from the original Latin. Not long after, the archbishop set forth a *' Catechism, or Short Instruction into Christian Religion, for the singular commodity and profit of Children and Young People," which is usually known by the name of Cranmer'' s Catechism. It was translated from the Latin version of a Ger- man catechism by Justus Jonas, used at Nurem- cranmer's catechism. 103 berg, and consists of expositions of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Authority of the Keys, and the Lord's Sup- per. It is hardly so clear in its statements of the truth as might be expected, for even as yet the archbishop seems to have retained, in words at least, a respect for some of the popish errors and perversions : still, as he was not the author of this Catechism, but simply the translator, it is not quite fair to charge upon him the errors of the original. This Catechism, however, ere long, gave place to one of English origin, which is the admirable one now in the Book of Common Prayer, except that part which relates to the sacraments, which was added in the time of James I. The commission who had in charge the ar- rangement of the public services of the Church, met at Windsor, May 8th, and proceeded zeal- ously and faithfully to perform the duty assigned them. They examined the Breviaries, Missals and Rituals, together with other books and offices at that time in use. These they compared with the ancient Galhcan, Spanish, Alexandrian and Oriental hturgies, and the writings of the early fathers. Whatever they found to agree with the doctrine of Holy Scripture and the worship of 104 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. the primitive Church, they generally retained. But they rejected the numerous palpable corrup- tions and superstitious innovations which had been gradually brought in during the middle ages. By the end of November the whole was finish- ed, and met the cordial approval of the clergy of the provinces of Canterbury and York. It re- ceived the sanction of the king and both houses of Parliament, January 15th, 1549 ; and it was enacted, " that the said form of Common Prayer, and no other, should, after the Feast of Pentecost next following, be used in all his majesty's do- minions." Our readers will take notice, that this is what is called the First Boole of Edward VI. It differs in several respects from the Prayer Book as fi- nally adopted by the Church of England, and from the nature of the case retains more of what we should call popish than at present would be approved of. But it should not be forgotten, in forming a judgment on the propriety of this course, that the Reformers deemed their plan by far the most wise and judicious which could be adopted : they knew that reformation to be of service, must proceed gradually and deliberately : the mass of men are not suddenly to be changed ; FIRST BOOK OF EDWARD VI. 105 customs which have been in use for centuries, cannot be thrown aside all at once ; and doctrines which have been held and taught for ages, are never immediately given up. Hence, as we have before remarked, Cranmer and his co-workers proceeded on the correct principle of altering as little as possible, in the outward forms of things, provided sound doctrine lay at the foundation ; so that the people might not needlessly have their prejudices excited, and might by degrees be led into clearer light and knowledge of the truth. In this First Book of Edward VI., the morning and evening service began with the Lord's Pra3^er. The baptismal service contained a form of exorcism, in order to drive away the evil spirit from the child, who was annointed and clad in a white garment. In the burial of the dead, there were prayers for the person buried and for the dead in general. When the sick were visited, the sick person was to be anointed if he desired it, and to be signed with the sign of the cross. At the celebration of the Lord's Supper, when the elements were given, only the first clause of what is now in the Pra3^er Book was used, viz. : — " The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life ;" " The Blood 6 IOC REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. of our Lord Jesus Christ,, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." Water was also to be mixed with the wine. In several other respects, though not of ma- terial consequence, the First Book differed from the one afterwards adopted by the Church of England. The wonder is not that it went no further, but that it went so far as it did in its approach to purity and truth ; and we who are members of that Church which rejoices in a Book of Common Prayer, shall be greatly wanting in a proper sense of what we owe to those great and good men, if we do not entertain and cherish for their memory, feelings of respect and gratitude ; and if we do not strive, by every means in our power, to show that we value the Prayer Book as it ought to be valued, by living holy and con- sistent lives, and by adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. CHAPTER V. A. D. 1549— 1551. Opposition to the new book — insurrections — ecclesiastical visitation — transubstantiation under discussion — doctrine of the Church of England on the Eucharist — public disputations — Joan Bocher — licentiousness of opinion and practice — Bonner deprived — Ridley translated to London — Ridley's visitation — ordination offices — distinguished foreigners — troubles of a new kind — contrast be- tween English and continental Reformation — Cranmer's settled views on the subject of the ministry — forty-two articles — thirty nine adopted — not Calvinistic — how to be interpreted. Hardly had the Book of Common Prayer been set forth by authority, and enjoined to be used in every church throughout the realm, when many and violent censures were expressed against it. They w^io were still wedded to the Romish system could ill brook to have anj^ of the service in English instead of Latin, transubstan- 108 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND, tiation denied, the Holy Scriptures opened to the people, and such like things, the result of the labors of the Reformers ; much less were they willing themselves to use the newly appointed book, and be thereby the agents of instructing the people in what they actually hated and con- temned. It would not have mattered greatly, perhaps, had the opposers of these needful re- forms been content in uttering their dissatisfac- tion in words merely; but so far from this, we find that through the influence of some priests and zealous defenders of popery, formidable insurrections were stirred up in Devonshire, Cornwall, and Norfolk. It w^as only by employ- ing a large force and using severe measures with the ringleaders, that these revolts were crushed. An ecclesiastical visitation was appointed early in this year, (1549,) for the purpose of suppress- ing many superstitious practices which still con- tinued to be observed, and also to in(juire into various pernicious heresies in order to have them rooted out. The consequence of all this was, the bringing into discussion one of the funda- mental doctrines of popery, and one which gives its priesthood tremendous power and influence over the people. We mean transubstantiation, that is, the change of the elements of bread and TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 109 wine into the actual body and blood of the glori- fied Redeemer, so that what we see and taste, and what appears to our senses to be bread and wine, is so no longer, but is the very body of Christ our Lord, which was offered on the cross. Now, as the priest, every time that he pronounced over the elements the words, " This is my body," transubstantiated the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ ; and as our Master himself distinctly declared, '* who- so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day ;" it followed, that the priest had it in his power to give or withhold that which would certainly save a man's soul, no matter what his life and conduct might be. It was hence im- portant, not only to obtain uniformity of practice, not only to get the people accustomed to the changes made in the public services and formu- laries, but also to show them the errors of this popish dogma, and to induce them to adopt, un- derstandingly, the, doctrine of Holy Scripture and the primitive Church respecting the sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper. This was the more important, because of the attachmentof the com- mon people to such doctrines and practices as removed thh responsibility from themselves, and 110 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. enabled them to trust to the priest every thing which related to the interests of their souls. We may here observe, in passing, that the Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, repudiate transub- stantiation; neither do they hold consubstantia- tion,* nor the opinion of some modern sects which destroys the sacrament entirely, as a divinely appointed means of grace. Their doctrine on this point is, that the bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper. " To such as rightly, worthily, and w^ith faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking, of the body of Christ ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ." (Art. XXVIII.) Public discussions were held on this subject both at Oxford and Cambridge ; and the arch- bishop wrote a learned treatise on the Eucharist,t * Consubstantiation is a dogma of Luther's. He taught that the bread and wine remained, as our senses teach us, but that our Lord's body is joined to the bread, or is in and with the bread in some miraculous manner, so that it is actually eaten with the broad ; a tenet which seems to us to be even more contradictory and absurd than the popish view of the sacrament. t The title of it is, " A Defence of the True and Catholick PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS. Ill to which Gardiner made a specious but weak reply. Cranmer, very soon after, issued his answer to the " crafty and sophistical cavilla- tion" of Gardiner and the puny attacks of other popish declaimers : this effectually settled the question so far as argument w^as able to do it.* The public disputations just alluded to, took place on the following heads : — in the eucharist there is notransubstantiation. In the bread and wine Christ is not corporall}^ present. The body and blood of Christ are united to the bread and wine sacramentally. The moderation, learning and fairness displayed in these discus- sions, are worthy of the highest praise, and are in striking contrast with the course pursued by the papists in the reign of Mary. Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ ; with a Confutation of sundry Errors concerning the same, grounded and established upon God's Holy Word, and approved by the consent of the most ancient doctors of the Church. Made by the Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, and Metropolitan. 1550." * This volume was re-published several times, and met with great and deservedly great approbation. Archbishop Parker has said of it, " that no controversy against the papists was ever han- dled more accurately ;" and succeeding writers of distinction have bestowed their eulogy upon the language as well as the spirit of it, upon its acuteness as well as its zeal. — Todd's Vindication of Archbishop Cranmer, p. 14. 112 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Would that we could say that the same moder- ation and justice had been manifested in regard to other things ! A half crazed and foolish woman, called Joan Bocher, or Joan of Kent, having uttered some crude and wicked notions which she in ignorance had taken up respecting our Lord's incarnation, and which, with ignorant intolerance, she stubbornly maintained, was sum- moned before a commission, tried, argued with, found obstinate, and in the course of the following year was delivered up to be burnt. The noble young king refused to sign the warrant for her death, and it was only at the earnest entreaties of Cranmer that he consented ; telling him with tears that he (the archbishop) must answer for it before God. How painful and humiliating to find the aged servant of the merciful Redeemer engaged in so unworthy a cause, and committing an act which we cannot defend but must ever deplore !* It is not to be denied, however, that most abominable licentiousness of opinion and practice * In justice to Cranmer, the intelligent reader will observe, that the archbishop was not alone in thinking, that impious denials of the faith should be punished with death, but that it was the univer- sal sentiment of the Reformers, as well in England as on the Con- tinent. FANATICS IN ENGLAND. 113 too widely prevailed. Men thought and said that the elect could never sin ; that the outward man might sin, but the inward man could not, and that they had a divine right to any thing whatsoever they chose : a horrible doctrine, which carried out, would upset the world in a very little while. England was overrun, too, with a horde of fanatics from abroad, termed Anabaptists, who not only scouted at and reviled infant baptism, but held besides many other pernicious notions ; such as, that all things among the saints should be common — that all usury, tithes and tribute ouoht to be abolished — that every Christian was invested with the power of preaching, if moved to the work — that the Church stood in no need of clergy — that in the kingdom of Christ civil magistrates were useless — and that God still revealed His will by dreams and visions. Other corruptions of faith and manners found too ready encouragement among the peo- ple, and gave occasion to the papists to exult over the troubles arisin": out of the Reformation. In October, 1549, Bonner, bishop of London, was deprived of his bishopric because of his disobedience to the orders of tEe council, and in February, 1550, Ridley, the great, wise and learned bishop of Rochester, was transferred to 6* 114 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. the important see of London. This brought him into still closer intimacy with Cranmer, whose friend and chaplain he had been for years, and enabled him to do good service to the cause of truth and righteousness. At his first visitation this year, he entered zealously upon his duties ; the clerg}- were ex- horted and warned to do away with superstitious practices; the altars of stone were converted into communion tables of wood, in order that the blasphemous notion of an expiatory sacrifice there offered by the priest might be eflectually rooted out; and unauthorized preaching and ex- pounding of the Scriptures were condemned. In February, 1550, the Ordination Offices were prepared, mainly by Ridle}^ one of a committee of twelve appointed for this purpose. They were almost precisely the same with those now in use ; and their intrinsic beauty and im- pressiveness are heightened by the fact, that we are using the very words of one of our noble army of martyrs, every time we are present at and take part in the services appointed for the ordination of bishops, priests and deacons. May God give us grace rightly to value these our inestimable privileges ! It is but proper, in this place, to make mention NEW TROUBLES. 115 of, and give due credit to several distinguished foreigners, Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr, Tremel- lius, a Lasco, Fagius, and others, who visited England, and by their learning and zeal, exer- cised considerable influence over the shape which the English Reformation finally assumed. It is necessary, also, to speak of these matters here, because it was about this time that troubles of a new kind took their rise among the Reformers, troubles, which have, more or less, vexed the Church of England ever since, have stirred up bitter strife, have caused dissensions of no light character, and of which, at the present day, we are reaping the fruits. We mean by this, that the spirit of insubordination, of wilful disobe- dience to the laws of the Church, and of per- verse, vexatious resistance to authority, in trifling and indifferent matters, sprang from foreign inter- course. And the reason is plain and evident. The Reformation abroad w^as conducted on different principles from that in England ; there was more rashness and hastiness, less regard for primitive doctrine and usages, and more violent controversies than in England. The continental Reformers seem to have gone to their work more as individuals than as members of the Church Catholic. Luther and Calvin became founders 116 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. of new churches or parties, called by their names; whereas, Cranmer and Ridley endeavored to put aside entirely what Cranmer or Ridley, indivi- dually, might think or do, and labored only for the good of the Church at large. Abroad, destruc- tion, entire rooting up and overturning was the watch-word : in England, every effort was made to hold fast to whatever was good and true in the popish system, and while sternly renouncing its errors and abominations, to bring the Church of England back again to primitive truth and order. Luther and his compeers met with difficulties in obtaining the Apostolic succession, and need- lessly, and, as we think, very culpably, made light of it, rejected the three orders of the min- istry, and thus gave birth to numerous Presby- terian societies or churches, things which never before were heard of, although perpetuated even to the present day ; but Cranmer pursued a different course. Though his opinions seem to have been unsettled, and even loose on this point, though he entertained, during the early, part of his career, exceeding high notions of the powder of the civil authority in the affairs of the Church, in yet connection with the otherReformer s, he calmly and firmly declared, that " it is evident unto all men, diligently reading Holy Scriptures and an- CONTINENTAL REFORMERS. 117 cient authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these orders of Ministers in Christ's Chm'ch, — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." He dared not, in his zeal against popery, destroy what the Lord Himself had appointed. Would to God, that the continental brethren had been equally careful, equally considerate ! for then we should have been saved a world of misery and trouble, and we should have been en- abled to present an undivided front against papal pretension and wickedness, which perhaps, ere this, might have resulted in its downfall. As it is, while we, in common with the foreign Reformers, lament their want of the Apostolic succession, we ought to be especially thankful for God's goodness in preserving the Church in its integrity and completeness in England. The archbishop had, for many years, desired to fix upon and establish some basis of union be- tween the Protestants in Enoland and those abroad ; he had a long and earnest correspondence with the excellent Philip INIelancthon on this sub- ject ; but all his efforts failed of success, as in- deed all similar efforts in later daj^s have uni- formly done. When this conviction was at last forced upon his mind, Cranmer turned himself reluctantly towards the preparation of a set of 118 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Articles of Religion for the Church of England. The king issued orders to this effect, in 1551 ; ar- ticles were completed in May, of the same year, submitted to the council and to a number of bish- ops, and finally agreed upon and published under the following title : — "The Articles agreed upon by the bishops and other learned and godly men, in the last Convocation at London, in the year of our Lord, mdlii., for to root out the discord of opinions, and establish the agreement of true re- ligion; likewise published by the king's majes- ty's authority, 1553." The Articles were forty- two in number, and were printed, together with a short Catechism attached, in Latin and English. Subsequently, various unimportant changes were made, and in 1562, early in the reign of Elizabeth, the present Thirty-Nine Articles were established by the Church of England. The Articles are sometimes claimed as Calvin- istic, or, as being in harmony with Calvin's no- tions of absolute predestination and reprobation ; but, as it appears to us, wholly without founda- tion. Calvin's fame and influence in England were subsequent to Cranmer's day, and not only the date, but documents of every kind show that the archbishop was guided more by Lutheran confessions than by any thing of Calvin's. If ARTICLES NOT CALVINISTIC. 119 more be wanting to confirm the truth of this as- sertion, it will be found in the fact, that Calvinists have very rarely, if ever, been satisfied with the Articles as they are, and have made many and vigorous efforts to introduce changes which should render them clear and precise in support of the Genevan Master's dogmas. The truth is, that the Articles, if we would understand them, must be looked at as pointed against the perversions and subtleties of the schoolmen and doctors of the middle ages, and against the abominations, doc- trinal and practical, of others in the Roman Church ; and on no other ground can they be con- sistently interpreted, or be made to harmonize with the Liturgy and Homilies of the Church. This has been abundantly shown in archbishop Laurence's Bampton Lectures, a volume, which we hope our readers will take an early day to consult; and we have no doubt that they will ao^ree with us, that the Church does not hold her- self committed to the opinions of either St. Au- gustine or John Calvin, or, indeed, to those of any one or more teachers ; but simply to the doc- trines which have been held "always, every where, and by all," since the days of our Lord and His Apostles. CHAPTER VI. A.D. 1551—1553. Clergy driven abroad by Six Article act — Hooper — scruples about clerical robes — Bucer and Martyr decide against him — sent to prison — assents — consecrated bishop — Hooper's motives sincere — unfortunate result of this trouble — revision of Book of Common Prayer — changes introduced — Ridley's sermon — Gardiner de- graded — Ponet, his successor — Somerset's fall — beheaded — War- wick's course — code of laws for the Church — never completed — bills passed by parliament, 1552 — dreadful licentiousness of opinion and practice — evils of the Reformation — destruction of property and manuscripts — mysterious dispensation of Providence Edward's sickness — death — character — fearful trial in prospect. When the bloody act of the Six Articles was passed, numbers of the clergy were driven abroad, unable to endure the fierceness of its persecutions. They were liospitably received, and entertained by the foreign Protestants, and, hooper's scruples. 121 as was but natural, they became tinged with the sentiments of those who had cast off every thing that approximated at all to Rome, or Roman customs. Among these, was Hooper — an up- right, pious and faithful minister of Christ, but too tenacious of his own opinions, and too much given to make trouble about matters little in them- selves, but of consequence when enjoined by the Church. On the accession of Edward, he, with others, returned to England, and Cranmer de- sired to have him elevated to the episcopate, be- cause of his sterling qualities, not dreaming that so sensible and learned a man could ever make difficulty about trifling and indifferent things. But to his surprise. Hooper refused to wear the robes of a bishop, and no advice or argument was able to shake his resolution. Even Martin Bucer, and Peter Martyr, those learned foreign- ers at this time in England, decided, that it was not a matter of conscience, but, that a man might wear any prescribed garaient, and still more, that it was a man's duty to obey the laws of the Church on this subject. Ridley, also, and Cran- mer spent much time in combatting his unreason- able scruples, but all to little purpose. After the fashion of those days, he was sent to pri- son, where he remained six weeks, debating the 122 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. point ; after which, he yielded a partial and ra- ther ungracious consent to wear so much of the robes, and on such occasions as could not be avoided. With this understanding, he was con- secrated bishop of Gloucester, in March, 1551, and we are happy to say, that despite his course on this subject, he was a faithful, laborious, and orderly bishop, and did good service to the cause of the Reformation. We have no doubt, that Hooper was honest and sincere in his opposition to what the Church required on the point of clerical robes, and that he supposed that more of principle was involved than is really the case. He probably thought that it was needful to separate so far from popery as to cut off every thing, even what was true, in that corrupt system, and perhaps, he believed in the saying, " the farther from Rome the nearer to God." Had he alone been concerned, or had those who held similar views with himself, been equally candid and open to conviction, there would have been no serious and lasting difficulty ; but it turned out far otherwise, and the spirit of opposition to Church law and Church requirement once raised, has been found too powerful ever yet to be effectually and permanently laid at rest. Men of restless minds ; men whose ideas con- VEXATIOUS QUESTIONS. 123 centered to one point, and thought that it was the sum and substance of truth ; men of uneasy ha- bits and fault-finding dispositions ; men never con- tented with things as they are arranged by the Church, but always seeking after change, and supposing that they can regulate matters of all kinds better than they were ever before ; men, whose minds have been cramped or warped by bad education ; men, ambitious of place, noto- riety, or, of being the head of a party ; men of these various sorts, have followed, and been glad to have so respectable a pattern to quote, as the bishop of Gloucester. And the trouble which has arisen in consequence, it would be impossi- ble fully to state. We can only briefly say, that there never has been found wanting a man to keep alive a spirit of perverse opposition and wilful disresfard of the law of the Church, in those matters which she has a perfect right to regulate. Manifold have been the discussions, and bitter the controversies on this subject. Not even Hooker's learning and wisdom, as shown in his great work on " Ecclesiastical Polity," have been able to settle the question entirely ; and we see sometimes, even in our own day, clergymen tak- ing more or less liberty to themselves on points determined by the Church, according as they are 124 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. more or less disposed to reverence what she has laid down for them to obey, or to set up in oppo- sition, their own wishes and opinions. Our read- ers will find it deeply interesting, to trace the spirit above spoken of, through Elizabeth's reign, to its final development in the Puritans of James Sixth, and Charles First's days. It is beside our present purpose to enter into this question. The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by authority, in Januar}^ 1549, was used throughout the realm from that date. The experience of a few years, however, and the inveterate clamor raised by the |)apal party and by others, sug- gested the need of some changes, and a review was accordingly ordered by the heads of the Church. The alterations made were substantially these : — the First Book of Edward VI. began with the Lord's Prayer ; there were now intro- duced the Sentences, the Exhortation, the General Confession and the Absolution ; the idea of which was derived from a form of prayer in use by the Protestant congregation in Strasburgh. The Litany was ordered to be used on Sundays. The Ten Commandments were made a part of the Communion Service ; the thanksgiving for the saints, the name of the Virgin Mary, the sign of the cross in consecrating the elements, the SECOND BOOK OF EDWARD VI. 125 mixture of water with the wine, &c., were omitted. In the Baptismal Service, the form of exorcisrh, the anointing of the child and the trine immersion w^ere discontinued. So too in visiting the sick, anointing was done away with ; and in the Burial Service, prayers for the dead, and the office for the Eucharist at funerals, were left out. In this review, the sentiments of Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr, both men of note for learning and piet}^, seem to have had considerable weight. Early in 1552, the Book of Common Pra3^er, as thus changed, was authorized by act of parlia- ment, and is in substance the same with that now in use by the Church of England. On the day appointed for the introduction of the Book as revised, the service was read in his cathedral by Ridley, habited, conformably to the new ru= l)ric, in his rochet only, w^ithout the embroidered cope or vestment. In the afternoon, we are told, " a sermon was preached by him at St. Paul's Cross, chiefly on the new Service Book: and his discourse was of such formidable length, that the corporation of London, who attended it, de- parted homeward, at nearly five o'clock, by torch-liirht."* o * Le Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. ii. p. 68. 126 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, who had been imprisoned in 1547, gave the government a great deal of trouble ; he was kept in confinement, on the charge of obstinacy and attachment to popish superstitions, and was finally, after suffering se- vere and harsh treatment, deprived of his bishop- ric, April 18th, 1551. He was succeeded in the see of Winchester by Dr. Ponet, a divine of eminent worth mid learning ; but the new bishop did 7iot succeed to the revenues of his office. Only a pittance was allowed him ; the rest went to supply some hungry courtiers — " honorable persons," they are called — and hangers-on about the great men in power. It is no want of charity to suppose that Gardiner's wealth rendered the vision of the court much more acute than usual in detecting his iniquities. Shortly after the settlement of this affair, the duke of Somerset, the lord protector, met with a lamentable 'dow^nfall. By the intrigues of Dud- ley, earl of Warwick — afterwards the notorious duke of Northumberland — he wks charged with treasonable designs, and sent to the tower, in July, 1549. On his trial no charges of material consequence were substantiated, though it was manifest that he had been vain, ambitious, and unwise ; that he, too, with the rest of the court, somerset's fall. 127 had seized upon the revenues of the Church ; and that his pohcy had failed to secure the triumph of British arms abroad, or peace and tranquility at home. After a confinement of about four months he was released, but having taken some steps which laid him open to Northumber- land's jealousy and hate, he was again arrested and convicted of felony ; and though not guilty of crimes meriting death, he was brought to the scaffold and beheaded, January 22d, 1552. The popish party expected to profit by the overthrow of so distinguished a man and so firm a friend to the Reformation ; but Warwick, who succeeded him in the chief management of affairs, knowing the king's deep and unalterable attach- ment to the cause of reform, deemed it better policy not to meddle with Church matters too much, or to seek to stay the onward progress of the truth in its purity and integrity. His views were wholly worldly, and he was little inclined to that course which would have demanded a giving up of Church property to its rightful owners, since in fact he was one of the greatest and most scandalous church-robbers of his day. Whatever Somerset's faults may have been — and they were not a few, as we have before said =-he was sincerely attached to the Reformation, 128 REFORMATION IN BNGLAND» and manifested, when in prison, that the graces of the Christian character had not been planted in a sterile soil. It is certainly no honor to Ed- ward's reign that his uncle perished in this manner. During the reign of Henry VIII. the archbishop had thought much upon a project for the refor- mation of the laws of the Church, which, on various accounts, needed entire and thorough revision : but Henry, through the artifices of G ar- diner and others, did not give it his cordial ap- proval, so that nothing of consequence was done while he lived. Shortly after Edward came to the throne, the plan was revived under better auspices ; eight commissioners were appointed to examine the ancient canons of the Church and to prepare a code which might be suitable to the wants of the ecclesiastical courts, and to the general good order and discipline of the Church. Cranmer, who was at the head of the commis- sion, labored diligently in this difficult and im- portant undertaking, but unhappily the early death of Edward prevented the final completion and establishment of a requisite body of laws for the Church of England. In the reign of Elizabeth, in 1571, the work, as arranged by the archbishop, was published under the title of Reformatio Le- CLOSE OF Edward's REiaN. 129 gtim Ecclesiasticarum. It has, however, no bind- ing authority in the Church. In the parhament of this year, (1552,) several bills of importance to the Church received its sanction. One confirmed the changes made in the revision of the Prayer Book, and directed, that attendance on the new service should be en- forced, under severe censures ; a second settled the observance of the holy-days retained in the Calendar ; a third declared that the marriage of the clergy was legal to all intents and purposes, an act which was required to enable the children of clergymen to inherit according to law, they having heretofore, through the strong prejudices of the people, been considered illegitimate. In the convocation of the present year, the clergy aQ:reed to the Articles. In bringing to a close, the history of the Re- formation during the reign of Edward VI., there are two thinors which cannot but strike the mind of the reader most forcibly, and cause him sad and sorrowful reflections. The one is the dread- ful licentiousness of opinion and practice, and the strange obliquity of moral perception, every where prevalent, not\\dthstanding all the efl^orts of the Reformers, and the faithful preaching of the Gospel by a large body of the clergy. The other 7 130 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. is the mysterious, but, as we see, wise dispensa- tions of divine Providence, in removing the young king, and bringing upon the Church and nation the hour of fiery trials. A little reflection will show the justice of these remarks. When popery was overthrown in England, so great and so extensive was the shock, that so- ciety was agitated to its very centre, and men's minds seemed to be given over to every form and species of extravagance and fanaticism. The spirit of evil had been let loose, and raged wildly through the land : covetousness, ungodly irre- verence, and shocking levity and profanit}?", all were in full vigor : luxury and wickedness, crimes of all descriptions, and unheard of abomi- nations were, alas, too common among those who knew better and should have set a better ex- ample to the people. Freedom from the tyranny of popish exactions was interpreted as giving liberty for any and all extravagances : men who loved pleasure were rejoiced at the prospect of going to all lengths without fear or hindrance ; some, who wished to do right, but who had more zeal than knowledge, were eager to tear down and root up every thing which in any wise had been in use among the papists, no matter how venerable and excellent it might be. The un- EVILS OF THE REFORMATION. 131 godly spoilers and robbers of the Church's pro- perty, grasped the wealth on which they could lay hands, and cared for nothing but how they might fill their coffers with money. Their halls were hung with altar cloths; their tables and beds were covered with copes instead of carpets and coverlets : chalices were used for carousing cups, at the tables of the bolder plunderers, and horses were watered in the stone and marble cof- fins of the dead ; — so horrible and so widespread was the destruction of churches throughout Eng- land. Somerset pulled down churches and chap- els, and violated the graves of the dead, to make room and supply materials for his lordly palace, and monopolized to himself a deanery, treasurer- ship of a cathedral, prebends, and other ecclesi- astical revenues. Tombs were stripped of their monumental brasses ; churches of their lead ; and bells in immense numbers, were exported to be ca>t into cannon. " Who can call to mind, with- out grief and indignation, how many magnificent edifices were overthrown in this undistinguishing havoc ! Malmsbury, Battle, Waltham, Mal- vern, Lantony, Rivaux, Fountains, Whalley, Kirkstall, T intern, Tavistock, and so many others, the noblest works of architecture, and the most venerable monuments of antiquity, 132 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. each the blessing of the surrounding country, and collectively the glory of the land ! Glastonbury, which was most venerable of all, even less for its undoubted age than for the circumstances con- nected with its history, and which in beauty and subhmity of structure, was equalled by. few, sur- passed by none, was converted by Somerset, af- ter it had been stript and dilapidated, into a ma- nufactory, where refugee weavers, chiefly French and Walloons, were to set up their trade !"* Finally, the destruction of the manuscripts in the libraries of the monasteries, was so grievous and so general, as to make one groan and weep. Eng- land's most noble antiquities were ruined ; the most valuable books and manuscripts were sold to chandlers and grocers for waste paper ; whole ship loads were sent abroad to foreign bookbind- ers, that the vellum or parchment might be used in their trade. Thus English history sustained irreparable losses, and literature received a blow from the eflfects of which it has never recovered. Are we not right in saying that, such things as these cause us sad and sorrowful reflections? who can restrain himself from exclamations of indignation and regret '? Wefl is it that we can * Southey's Book of the Church, chap. xiii. Edward's death. 133 turn from so dreadful a scene to contemplate a while the other of the two thinsfs to which we wish to call attention : well is it that we should look upon that which moves us to grief, and ought to make us bow ip humble submission to the righteous dispensations of Almighty God. The noble young king, whose reign seemed to hold out promise of so much good to the Church, early showed signs of decaying health, and was not spared long to bless the world with his pre- sence. He had never been rugged, and of late it became but too evident that his strength was failing rapidly. In his last sickness the Christian graces, for which his whole life had been remark- able, shone with brighter lustre than ever : and after gratifying his pious soul with several muni- ficent charities, suggested by Ridley, he breathed forth his spirit in prayer for the good of the Church and the welfare of his people. The mournful event occurred at Greenwich, on the 6th of July, 1553, he being in the sixteenth year of his age and the seventh of his reign. Of his character, there is and can be but one sentiment expressed. It was every thing that was lovely, every thing that was noble, every thing that was of good report. His talents were of a high order, his learning far beyond the 134 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. average standing of youths of his own age, and his virtues so great as to call forth the admiration of all who saw or knew him. " No pen," says Fuller, " passeth by him without praising him, though none praising him to his full deserts." When every thing seemed, so far as we can see, so admirably fitted for a long, prosperous and useful reign, when the prospects of advantage to the state and the Church were so great and so manifold, while a prince of Edward's temper and qualifications sat on the throne, how myste- rious do the ways of God appear, and how un- searchable His judgments ! It pleased Him not to spare the pious Edward ; it was not His will that His Church should escape tribulation ; and as the sun of England's Josiah set in glory which is not of this world, the dark and ominous clouds of trial arose and overshadowed the land, making the stoutest hearts to tremble, and the timid to quake with fear. Well might the Reformers exclaim against the wickedness which so greatly abounded, and count it a direct judgment from heaven that the pious young king was taken away ; well might they nerve their souls for the fiery trials which were near at hand : the papal party, with Gardiner as their leader and exem- plar, had bided the time ; they were waiting for POPERY TRIUMPHANT. 135 the day of vengeance, when they might sate their wrath with the blood of their hated oppo- nents ; that day was at hand, and popery was again triumphant. CHAPTER VII A. D. 1553—1555. Lady Jane Grey — her character — manner in which she was ele- vated to the throne — eleven days queen — Mary mounts the throne — Jane beheaded — promised toleration — duplicity of the queen — course determined on — ^indecent haste in restoring popish practices — Hooper imprisoned — Cranmer sent to the tower — pri- sons soon crowded with Reformers — their courage and constancy — Commendone, papal emissary in England — doings in parlia- ment — Spanish match greatly disliked — Gardiner opposes it — Philip's character — result — marriage takes place — convocation meets — its acts — public discussions — unfairness — popish taunt — — Romish bishop appointed — Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer borne down by clamor and abuse — re-action — respite for a while — Eli- zabeth saved by Philip — Cardinal Pole, papal legate — absolves the nation — queen's sacrifices — persecuting statutes revived — Pole's feelings — policy resolved upon. There is no sadder story in the history of these troublous times than that of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey. Possessed of every virtue, highly LADY JANE GREY. 137 accomplishecl, and learned far beyond the stand- ard usually allowed to her sex, having no ambi- tion to shine any where but in the sphere properly belonging to her, she was 3^et, through the crimi- nal ambition of her fither-in-law, the duke of Northumberland, involved in difficulties, and placed in such a position as soon led to complete overthrow of allher prospects of life and happi- ness, and the death of herself and her husband on the scaffold. It is impossible not to pity so gentle, so lovely and so innocent a victim : it is equally impossible not to admire the more than human courage and constancy with which she went throu2:h her last bitter trial. The causes which led to her untimely death were briefly these : — Edward VI., deeply anxious for the cause of the Reformation, and well know- ing that his sister Mary was wedded to popish superstitions and errors, and obstinately bent on adhering to them, in his last sickness took a step which he no doubt thought right, but which, being unsanctioned by law, was really wrong. Induced mainly by the wicked and ambitious duke of Northumberland, he drew up a will, by which were set aside the princessess Mary and Elizabeth, the next legal heirs to the throne, and the crown was bestowed on Lady Jane Grey, 7* 138 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. the daughter-in-law of Northumberland, and the grand-daughtfer of Mar}^, sister of Henry VIII. The judges and the members of the privy council at first positivel}^ refused to accede to this request of Edward's, but after earnest entreaties, and in obedience to his express commands, they signed the will, and agreed to support it, all except Sir James Hales and archbishop Cranmer : the latter was, however, ultimately prevailed upon to join with the rest of the council — an act which he soon after had cause bitterly to repent. Jane, with manifest and strong reluctance, and with almost entire unconcern on the part of the people, was proclaimed, July 9th, 1553 ; and the next day, Ridley preached at St. Paul's Cross in her behatf. It was only a few days afterwards that Mary, finding the voice of the people in her favor, and her forces augmenting rapidty, came towards London, and Jane, having reigned but eleven days, most gladly laid down the burden of a crown. Mary entered London on the third of August, and was soon quietly seated on her father's throne. Jane was committed to the tower on the charge of high treason, and early the next year, when a plausible pretext was offered, was beheaded on the scaflbld. She was FIRST ACTS OF MARY. 139 only in her seventeenth year when this event occurred, and her lot has been universally de- plored.* Among the very first acts of the new queen, was a declaration setting forth that she did not intend to compel the consciences of her people, and that toleration on the subject of religion should be allowed. We are sorry to say, that very little of this was sincerely meant, for only two days afterwards, she added a condition, viz., " until such time as further order, by common consent, may be taken therein;" that is, she would refrain from compulsion until, by law, she could give her subjects the choice of popery or death. Ere long, it became perfectly evident that Mary and her advisers had determined upon a course of severity and sharpness, by which, as * The history of tyranny affords no example of a female of se- venteen, by the command of a female, and a relation, put to death for acquiescence in the injunction of a father, sanctioned by the concurrence of all that the kingdom could boast of as illustrious in nobility, or grave in law, or venerable in religion. The example is the more affecting, as it is that of a person who exhibited a match- less union of youth and beauty with genius, with learning, with virtue, with piety ; whose affections were so warm, while her pas- sions were so perfectly subdued. It was a death sufficient to honor and dishonor an age. — Sir James Mackintosh's History of Eng- land, chap. xv. 140 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. they hoped, the Reformation would be crushed entirely, and popery re-estabhshed in England. Gardiner was taken out of prison immediately on Mary's accession, and made lord chancellor ; the Romish bishops were restored ; the notorious Bonner took possession of the see of London, two days after Mary entered the city ; the mass was said in many places, though entirely contrary to law ; the preaching of the reformed clergy was restrained by an order in council, and a commis- sion was appointed, Gardiner and Bonner being two of them, to degrade and imprison the sup- porters of the Reformation among the clergy, on the threefold charge of treason, heresy, and matrimony. - On the first of September, Hooper was Im- prisoned, and about the middle of the same month Cranmer was sent to the tower on the charge of high treason, both because he had joined with the rest of the council in the attempt to set aside Mary and put Lady Jane Grey on the throne, and because he had indignantly, and in strong terms, denied the story which was put in circulation, that the mass had been introduced by his direction, and with his consent, into Can- terbury cathedral, affirming that it was a "false, flattering, lying and dissembling monk," who REFORMERS IN PRISON. 141 had done thus. Nay, he went so far as to offer pubHcly to prove the folly of the mass, and the soundness of the Liturgy of Edward VI. Most of the other distinguished leaders, including bi- shops and doctors, and a host of others, soon found their way into prison, where they were treated with brutal indignity, subjected to all the insults and hardships which malicious meanness could invent, deprived of common comforts, of books, of intercourse with friends, and made to feel, day by day, that the stake and the fiery flame were all that they could look forward to. The prisons were soon crowded with victims. Ridley, Latimer, John Rogers, Rowland Tajdor, Bradford, and others of less note among the Reformers, were confined and harshly treated, in order, it seems, to break down their spirits by bodilv sufFerins:, and in some evil moment to prevail upon them to recant; but all in vain. They stirred up one another to do manfully for the truth ; incessant prayer brought down new supplies of grace ; their courage rose as their persecution became sharper ; and the fire had no terrors which could shake the unconquerable energy and constancy of the noble army of mar- tyrs, who, during this bloody reign, laid down 142 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. their lives for the truth of the principles of the Gospel and the Prayer Book. Heavy though the task may be, and is, to record these things; much as our bosoms may and must burn with hatred against the devilish spirit of barbarity, torture and cruelty, almost every where displayed ; still our hearts glow within us, as we read of the courage and con- stancy of the martyred bishops and doctors of the Church ; our souls seem to acquire additional strength to persevere and fight the good fight of faith, as becomes professors of the same truth which these went so joyfully to the stake to maintain. It is with regret that we find that our limits will allow only a brief notice of these martyrdoms. Strype's Lives, and Ecclesiastical Memorials, Fox's Book of Martyrs, Southey's Book of the Church, Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography, and the larger histories of the Refor- mation, may be turned to by those who have time and wish to know all that is recorded on this subject. Very soon after Mary's elevation to the throne, a papal emissary, named Commendone, obtained access to her, and both inflamed her native bi- gotry and hinted to her the advantage it would ACTS OF PARLIAMENT. 143 be to form a matrimonial alliance with Philip, son of the emperor, Charles V. On his way to Rome, Commendone called on cardinal Pole, who had been declared a traitor in Henry's reign, and therefore dared not to set foot in England so long as the bill of attainder stood unrepealed. Mary was very anxious to receive Pole immedi- ately as papal legate, but this could not be done till parliament repealed the law forbidding any legate of the pope to land in England, and till he himself was released from danger of punishment for his treasonable practices. Consequently, Pole had to wait, and even Gardiner strongly advised Mary not to be too hasty in this matter. Parliament met in October, 1553. Several acts were passed, among which, were those re- pealing every thing done in Edward's reign re- lating to rehgion, and restoring matters to the condition in which they were left at the death of Henry VIII. An act also was passed sanction- ing the queen's restoring the old service. In truth, parliament was willing to do almost any thing the queen required on the subject of re- ligion and politics ; but they had a fixed dislike — and in this they represented the sense of the Enghsh nation — to the project just alluded to, of a match between the queen and Philip of Spain. 144 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. It deserves to be related, to the credit of Gardi- ner, of whom we can very rarely speak in terms of praise, that he opposed this Spanish alliance with all his ability, and even to his own risk, and when he could not succeed in breaking it off, he managed to obtain the most favorable terms for England. Not only on the ground of patriotism, but on others, this match was opposed heartily, even by the popish party. Philip was known to have the vices of his nation, and few, if any, of its redeeming and noble qualities : though he em- ployed his gold most lavishly, in purchasing good opinions, still it was felt, that he was dark, bi- gotted, vindictive and cunning, and in every way unsuited to the English race, who love openness and candor, and who would far sooner endure the yoke of such a bold, reckless despot as Henry VIIL, than submit to the much less extensive ty- ranny of such an one as Philip the Spaniard. . It mattered little to Mary, whether the people liked the match or not ; she had a due proportion of her father's iron will, and notwithstanding a serious rebellion was excited by this Spanish match ; notwithstanding the general, almost uni- versal dislike of the nation to the alliance, she made up her mind to the marriage, and it w^as consummated, July, 25th, 1554. Mary was at PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS. 145 this time thirty-nine years of age, and Philip, her husband, twenty-seven. The convocation met at the same time with parUament. Most of the members (having been chosen with this view,) were in favor of the po- pish doctrines, and only six could be found bold enough to be willing to stand up manfully and con- tend for the truth of the principles of the Refor- mation. By the first act of the convocation, the Prayer Book was denominated an abominable book, and declared to be heretical, because it denied transubstantiation. The catechism shared the same fate. The discussions in public were very warm and earnest, and as might be expect- ed, the matter was decided by force of numbers rather than by strength of argument. So little fairness was shown towards the Reformers, that they were borne down by clamor and indecent shouting and railing, till at last, after three days endurance of the storm, they yielded in despair of obtaining a fair hearing. Weston, dean of Westminster, the prolocutor, summed up with a brutal taunt ; for when the Reformers, declaring that the Scriptures were in their favor, exclaimed — " if;e have the Word;^^ — "yes," was the reply, " but ive have the sivord.^^ Most keenly was it 146 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. soon felt, that the sword of persecution was un- sheathed, and the scabbard cast away. In 1554, the bishops were enjoined to enforce the canons against heretics, and for the removal of married clergy from their preferments. Seve- ral thousands of the clergy were thus harshly de- prived, amongst whom were the archbishop of York, and the bishops of Bristol, Chester and St. D avid' s. Three other bishops were degraded on the charge of heresy ; so that there were now sixteen sees vacant, which were immediately filled by zealous partisans of Romanism. About the middle of April, the queen, by the advice of Gardiner, determined upon having a public disputation at Oxford, at which the chief of the Reformers should be obliged to attend, and under the show of discussion, the cause of popery be triumphantly established. Accordingly, the archbishop, Ridley and Latimer, who had all, to throw indignity upon them, been thrust into the same room in the common prison,* along with Bradford, the martyr, were brought forth to un- dergo an ordeal, in many respects, more severe * " Bocardo, is a stinking, filthy prison for drunkards and harlots, aad the vilest sort of people." — Bishop Ridley, Letter to Bradford. GROSS UNFAIRNESS. 147 even than that of the stake. The disputation was respecting these three points : — 1. Whether the natural body of Christ be really in the sacra- ment ? 2. Whether any other substance remain, after the words of consecration, than the body of Christ ? 3. Whether in the mass there be a sa- crifice and propitiation for the sins of the quick and dead 1 They were not allowed either time, books or friendl}^ intercourse, or any thing else which could enable them to prepare to enter upon so weighty a discussion. Cranmer, as being the acknowledged head of the Reformers, was brought forth first; and dur- ing the long, weary hours, from eight in the morn- ing till two in the afternoon, this venerable divine, "his meek, sensitive, tender-hearted old man, was jrow-beaten, reviled, and insulted by foul- oiouthed and ignorant men, hissed at and clam- ored against by the prejudiced and blinded as- semblage. His learning and ability were of no service^ at such a time and before such an au- dience ; for even if they had allowed him to be heard, it would not have changed the result ; they had already made up their minds to convict him and claim a victory. The next day Ridley appeared before the com- missioners. He was in the prime of his years 148 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. and the full vigor of his faculties; and although' he was compelled to bear with the same indecent usage as that shown to the archbishop, he never- theless made a glorious defence of the principles of the Reformation, and equally astonished and confounded his opponents, by the depth and wonderful variety of his learning, by his thorough knowledge of all the points in dispute, and by his noble bearing under contumely and insult. The third day witnessed a scene far more distressing. Good old Hugh Latimer, bending under the weight of fourscore years, broken down by age and infirmity, and actually sick at the time, was led out to undergo his share of the bitter pains and buffetings in store for the Refor- mers. He refused utterly to attempt to dispute, and having handed in a paper expressing in short his views on the topics before them, he made an appeal to the prolocutor, which one would think w^ould have softened the stoniest heart: " Good master, I pray be good to an old man ; you may, if it please God, be once as old as I am ; you may even come to this age anddebiHty;" but all in vain: taunts, hisses, laughter, and such like were the reply which these mad and brutal fanatics made to so affecting, so touching an ap- peal. May God forgive us if we be wrong, but MALICE DEFEATED. 149 we can never read of this scene without a burst of indi2:nation. In the present case, as in many others, malice overreached itself. The. very violence and fierce- ness of the attack on the one hand, backed by all the power of the crown, and the patient, firm, Christian endurance on the other, though the tortures and the fire were in full view as the sure result, caused a reaction in the minds of the more sober of the popish party, and nerved many a trembling heart to bear all things for the sake of the truth. It was surprising — especially so to the worldly Avise — how the courage of the Reformers rose, and how their hearts revived at the example of these great and good bishops. And the manifest injustice of their condemnation, which was paraded forth with all the show which it was possible to give it, disgusted many, and led them to doubt w^hether a cause could be good which required such measures to uphold it. The marriage of the queen produced a short respite for those who had offended the vindictive princess ; and it deserves to be recorded to the credit of Philip — be his motive what it may — that he interfered and saved the princess Eliza- beth from an ignominious end, which her own sister had marked out for her. Still, there was 150 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. no stopping, in the onward course toward Rome ; nay, rather, there was indecent haste to restore the customs, practices and tenets of popery. Cardinal Pole, at the earliest moment, came to England as the pope's legate, and at the request of parliament and the convocation, he formally absolved the nation, and received it once more into the bosom of the self-styled " mother and mistress of all Churches." All the acts of late years against the Roman see were repealed, and every thing was restored to its former condition, except in respect to one important point, viz., that of the church lands. So many had been concerned in the spoil and robbery of the Church's property, that it was quite useless to expect them , to give up their ill-gotten wealth. So the matter was not pressed. The queen alone — to her honor be it recorded — restored to the Church all the lands which were at the royal disposal, and dis- charged the clergy from the pa3^ment of first fruits and tenths. If it had been demanded, absolutely, that every thing should be given up, it is quite certain that popery never could have gone a step further, and not even the tremendous power of the crown could have forced so unpalatable a measure upon those who had shared in the spoils of the monasteries and churches. The severe CARDINAL POLE. 151 Statutes against the Lollards (followers of John Wickliffe) and other heretics, as they were term- ed, were also re-enacted. They had been re- pealed in 1547. These acts, and some additional ones of the same character, strengthened the hands of those in power, and gave legal sanction to the savage persecution which the next year raged throughout England. We may here, injustice to cardinal Pole, make mention of the honorable fact, that he strongly disapproved of the extreme measures which were in progress. His natural feelings of humanity and mercy revolted at the needless cruelties about to be practised, and his good sense told him that this was no way to bring men back to the belief in the excellence and Christian graces of the papal system. His advice, however, was re- jected, and the acute Gardiner joined with the brutal Bonner, in recommending a course which brought disgrace and odium upon all concerned in it, and which, as we shall see, resulted far differently from what was expected. The im- portant events of the following 3^ears of Maiy's reign, rightly demand a separate chapter to be devoted to their consideration. CHAPTER VIII. A. D. 1555—1558. Year 1555 memorable — persecution set on foot — John Rogers pro- to-martyr — Laurence Samiders — bishop Hooper martyred at Gloucester — Rowland Taylor burnt — his character — papists dis- appointed— Ferrar, Bradford, Philpott and others burnt— number of the martyrs during Mary's reign — bishops Ridley and Lati- mer burnt at Oxford — their characters — Latimer's last words — Cranmer reserved a while — cited to appear before the pope — condemned for contmnacy — degraded by Bonner and Thirlby — Cranmer's recantations — how obtained — duplicity of the queen and court — malice overshooting the mark — the archbishop re- tracts his recantation — scene in St. Mary's church, Oxford — Cranmer burnt — Pole made archbishop — his character — persecu- tion unabated — effect of this — universities visited — doings of the visitors— Calais taken — unpopularity of the government — Mary's death — Pole's death — character of Mary. The year 1555 is memorable in the annals of the Reformation. It has left a blot upon the charac- ter of Mary, which no time can efface, and no ef- ROGERS PROTO-MARTYR. 153 forts of apologists ever remove ; and it will serve to the latest days, as a marvellous and bloody proof of what popery is capable, when fully car- ried out. If it serve not also to set forth the "detestable enormities" of tyranny and outrage of which Rome has been guilty ; and if it serve not to warn us against the fatal delusions of a sys- tem which is never changed, and boasts that it never will be, then the voice of history is uttered m vain, and our humble labors are throw^n away. By advice of Gardiner, whom the remem- brance of hardships in Edward's reign had not tended to soften or render merciful, the course of severity wa& adopted, and such persecution was set on foot as disgraced the whole popish party, even in their own eyes, and rendered the govern- ment unpopular to an extreme. We can only briefly note the horrors of this eventful and bloody year. The first martyr who w^as brought to the stake for denying trans ubstantiatio^i, was John Rogers, at the time a prebendary of St. Paul's. He had been educated at Cambridge, and afterwards be- came chaplain of the English factory at Antwerp, and also aided Tindal and Coverdale in trans- lating the Bible, (known as Matthew's Bible.) While abroad, he married, and was blessed with 8 154 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. a large family, which he brought with him to England, when Edward's accession rendered it safe for married priests to reside in their own country. Ridley gave him a prebendal stall in St. Paul's, and a divinity lectureship in that ca- thedral. He was among the first apprehended when Mary came to the throne, and steadily main- taining the truth, he was condemned to the flames, after more than a year's imprisonment, among the common filth of Newgate. Gardiner and Bonner, with characteristic brutality, refused to let Rogers see or speak to his wife and family, so that as he was on his way to Smithfield's fire and torture, the heart-rending spectacle was wit- nessed of a mother with an infant at the breast, and ten weeping children come out to obtain the last blessing of a husband and father. Bravely did Rogers bear himself through this sore trial, nobly did he spurn the offer of life if he would recant, and, as it were, washing his hands in the flames, he met death, calmly, resolutely, glori- ously. This was on the 4th of February. The second martyr was Laurence Saunders, also educated at Cambridge, and passionately de- voted to learning. In Edward's reign, he mar- ried and obtained preferment in the Church. He was so zealous and active in the discharge of the SAUNDERS AND HOOPER. 155 duties of his sacred office, that he was early marked out as a victim. Bonner demanded his opinion of transubstantiation. He gave it, with- out hesitation, in writing, saying, at the same time, — " my lord, ye do seek my blood, and ye shall have it. I pra}^ God, that ye may be so baptized in it, that ye may hereafter loathe blood- sucking, and become a better man!" He was cast into prison, kept there for fifteen months, not allowed to see his wife, and at last, on the 8th of February, was sent to the stake at Coventry. He died as he had lived, earnest, zealous, faith- ful, full of hope and peace. On the next day. Hooper was ordered to Glou- cester to undergo the same fearful trial. Ever since Mary's accession, he had looked forward to this last scene as the almost certain end of his career. Nor was he disappointed. His trial was like that of the other martyrs ; neither mer- cy nor kindness found place in the bosoms of his persecutors, and he was abused in the most in- decent manner because he had been married. After having been treated with shameless bar- barity in prison, exposed to dampness a,nd foul air, so that lie well nigh escaped, by death, the torture of the stake, he was brought forth, de- graded at tlie same time with Rogers, and led 156 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. out to execution. It was meant as an additional cruelty, the sending him to the place where he had labored so faithfulh^, but in truth, it was really thought kindness by Hooper. He rejoiced to bear iestimony among his own people, even unto death, of the truth of what he had taught them. It was a market day on which he suffered, and about seven thousand persons were present. Many a one was glad and took courage at the sight of the constanc}^ of this noble martyr, who, though he lingered in the midst of agony for three quarters of an hour ere death came, only cried aloud, " Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me!" and with a patience worthy the man of God, passed through the flames unto his eternal re- ward. O, wdio can tell what glory opened upon his view in the paradise of God ! The very. same day — the notable 9th of Fe- bruary — Rowland Taylor, the illustrious pro- genitor of the still more illustrious Jeremy Tay- lor, laid down his life for the cause of divine truth. His life and ministry form one of the most interesting and touching pieces of biography which can be found any where, and we beg our readers, if they possibly can, to turn to the pages of good old John Fox's Book of Martyrs, and read in full, what we can only now briefly relate. ROWLAND TAYLOR. 1B7 Taylor was a bold, fearless, frank, open- hearted, liberal-minded man ; not more remarka- ble for his wit and pleasantry, than for his ardent piety and devotion ; and not more humble before God than courageous before man. He had been chaplain in Cranmer's household, but when ap- pointed to the parish of Hadley, in Suffolk, he immediately devoted himself to the special du- ties of the priestly office, and so successful was he, that, by God's grace, his people were well taught in the Holy Scriptures, and eminent for piety and consistency of life. Gardiner, as usual, resorted to foul-mouthed abuse, when Taylor was brought before him, charging it against him as a crime, that he was married. " I thank God, I am," was his reply, "and have had nine children." He was con- demned to die, and having been degraded by the brutal Bonner, with uncalled-for harshness and insolent bitterness, he was brought out of prison, where he had lain nearly two years, and sent to the stake. None of the martyrs had more sympathy shown towards him than Taylor, none seems to have been more beloved of the people, and none — sad is it to say — was treated with so much brutality and cruelty as the parson of Hadley, by those who attended to his execution. 158 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. While at the stake, a fellow threw a faggot which cut his face so that the blood ran down, . and shortly after, another suddenly smote him on the skull with a halberd, and the body fell forward in death. Such was the end of the mortal career of this valiant man of God. Grievous was the disappointment of the popish party at the effect of these blood-thirsty proceed- ings. They supposed that such a course would have stricken terror into the Reformers, and crushed the spirit of the opponents of Romish corruptions ; but it turned out far otherwise. The Reformers grew strong through suffering : the people were forcibly struck with the sight of their courage, constancy, and ardent piety ; and the outrageous tyranny which condemned the learned, eloquent and noble preachers of the truth to death on the most frivolous chars^es, filled the whole community with amazement, indigna- tion, and disgust. Gardiner and his savage abettors, mortified and confounded, stayed their hands a while, not well knowing what to do. A few weeks' respite only was granted, and the fires were kindled anew, to burn with increased fury. We have. neither space nor inclination to dwell could not, were we so disposed, adequately de- NUMBER OF THE MARTYRS. 159 scribe the horrors of these bloody days. An evil spirit of savage barbarity and headlong thirsting for slaughter, seemed to pervade the papal party, and, with Bonner at the head, they stuck at nothing so that they might wreak their vengeance on the Reformers. Ferrar, bishop of St. David's, Bradford, prebendary of St. Paul's, Philpott, archdeacon of Winchester, and many others, both clergy and laity, in the upper and lower walks of life, were brousfht to the stake during- this 3^ear : neither learning nor ignorance availed, since, indiscriminately, the well-learned and the deplorably ignorant were consigned to the flames, on the same charges. It may seem almost incredible, but it is never- theless true, that during the first ten months of the year, 1555, no less than seventy-two persons of all ranks, ages, and of both sexes, were burned at the stake, because they denied papal infalli- bilit}'", and refused to believe in the dogma of transubstantiation. It may also be mentioned here, that this was the average number of mar- tyrdoms during each year of Mary's reign ; so that from February, 1555, to September, 1558, according to the statement of lord Burleigh, two hundred and ninety persons were burned alive, and nearly a hundred more died by imprison- 100 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. ment, cruel usage and famine. A most dreadful catalogue ! who can imagine that to be the re- ligion of the blessed and compassionate Saviour, Avho " went about doing good," when such were its fruits ? May God in His mercy deliver His Church from popish usurpation and tyranny ! In October of this year, Ridley and Latimer, the intimate friends and most efficient supporters of Cranmer, were doomed to the fiery trial through which so many had to pass. Ridley was well-born, being of a good stock in North- umberland. His reputation as a scholar was very high, and he was master of Pembroke col- lege, Cambridge, where he was greatly beloved. Henry raised him to the bishopric of Rochester, and Edward translated him to the see of London. Few equalled him in learning, none excelled him in sagacity ; his kindliness of heart, and his en- larged liberality were beyond all praise, and his powerful influence in setting forward the Refor- mation was felt throughout the whole realm. Latimer was of more humble origin and pos- sessed of qualities w^hich fitted him for laboring more especially among the people, wdth whom he was deservedly a great favorite. Of respect- able acquirements and great natural shrewdness, and power of addreas, he was very successful in RIDLEY AND LATIMER. 161 spreading abroad the doctrines of the Reforma- tion, and was a valuable assistant to the arch- bishop. Henry elevated him to the see of Ro- chester, which Latimer resigned when the odious act of the Six Articles was passed, and when afterwards he might have taken his bishopric again, he declined, and spent the rest of his time with Cranmer at Lambeth. The place of execution was at Oxford ; after suffering every kind of indignity and insult, they were brought to the stake ; bravely did they comfort one another and pray together, ere the fire came at them. The words of Latimer at the moment a lighted faggot was thrown at his feet, are memorable and well nigh prophetic : — " Be of good comfort, master Ridley, and play the man ; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." The venerable old man suf- fered but a short time, but Ridley's tortures and agony were horrible and long continued. At last relief came, and his soul sped away to join the noble army of martyrs awaiting him in the mansions of bliss. May it be our lot to stand at his side in the last great day of account ! It was a very subtle stroke of policy — whether so intended or not — on the part of those who 162 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. managed this dreadful persecution, not to bring the venerable archbishop to the stake at the same time with Ridley and Latimer. Their courage and constancy would have aided in strengthening and supporting him in the hour of trial and torture, and his sun would have set in glory unclouded, and his fair fame been unsullied by a single stain ; but, alas ! this was not per- mitted ; such arts were used, such despicable treachery employed, as ensnared the aged ser- vant of God, and he fell from his steadfastness May we learn a lesson from this instructive page in history ! Ridley and Latimer, as above stated, suffered at the stake, October 16th, 1555 ; but Cranmer was retained in prison. Being archbishop and primate of all England, he had been cited to appear at Rome before the pope within eighty days, which he was very ready to do, but his jailors took good care that he should not pass his prison doors ; and, absurd as it may appear, when the eighty days had elapsed, he was gravely condemned for contumacy in not answ^er- ing the summons of the pope ! Immediately after, on the 4th of December, he was sentenced to excommunication, deprived of the archbish- opric, and cardinal Pole put in charge of the see cranmer's recantation. 163 of Canterbury ; and on the 14th of February, 1556, he was degraded by the papal delegates, Bonner and Thirlby, and treated with most cruel insolence by Bonner, whose churlish spirit seemed to revel in such scenes as this. The succeeding history relating to Cranmer's fall and the recantations which he signed, is not a little intricate and perplexing, and the whole transaction is involved in so great mystery, that it is doubtful if it will ever be fully cleared up. The facts appear to be as follows : — within two days of the events just recorded, it is stated that the courageous archbishop, who was ready to go to the stake at once, was induced to sign no less than four different papers of submission or recantation, for the purpose of saving his life ; neither of them however, being explicit enough to satisfy his enemies. Accordingly a new scheme was devised. He was taken out of prison, invited to spend his time with learned men at the deanery of Christ's church, and in various respects per- mitted to enjoy the sweets of life and liberty. Meanwhile, artful emissaries were set to work to accomplish his ruin ; they said to him it was a great pity that so venerable, learned, and godly a man should die by the fire, that the queen was merciful, that his life would be spared if he took 164 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. any pains to propitiate her, and that he might spend the remainder of his days in learned ease and retirement if he would only confess his errors and jdeld to the wishes of the queen. All this and much more of the same kind was said to him, and it seems to have had its effect ; he wdio was proof against hardships, torments of famine and prison, insults and scoffs, gradually gave way before kind treatment and seductive speeches, and signed a fifth paper of recantation, full and explicit, denying all that his previous life and writings had so earnestly maintained.* A few days afterwards he was sent to the stake ! Now, we hope our readers will notice particu- larly, the meanness and treachery of this w^hole proceeding. Cranmer's death had all along been determined on, and they knew it well who were seeking to undermine his integrity, by holding out hopes of escape from death. To save his life he denied the truth, which at heart he always believed ; threats and promises were alternately presented to him, and up to the very last, the in- sidious wiles of the tempter were put in force to sink him, if possible, lower than ever, before he perished by the fire. What base lying and de- * See Appendix. HIS RETRACTION AND DEATH. 165 ceptioii was this ! What despicable conduct for bishops, clergy, doctors and nobles ! Who can look without scorn on men who give good words with their mouths, while they are stabbing their victim to the heart? But their malice overshot the mark : the great and good man — -greal and good, though fallen — when he knew that death w^as near, recoiled in horror from the duplicity which had been used to- wards him, and was filled with the deepest an- guish and remorse for his weakness and cowardly yielding to temptation : his spirit revived ; his supplications for grace and strength were an- swered, and he' nobly atoned for his fall. On the 21st of March, as had for days been arranged on, he was taken to St. Mary's church, Oxford, to listen to a sermon before his death, and to proclaim there his ignominious desertion of the cause of reform. The papists were ex- ulting over his downfall, but he disappointed their expectation. In the deepest distress, shedding many tears, and sobbing like a child in his sor- row, he offered up his pra3'ers, and addressed the people, warning and urging them to their duty to God and to man. His address was closed in words which struck his hearers dumb : " Now, 1 come to the great thing thnt troubleth my con- 166 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. science more than any other thing that ever I said or did in my life : and that is the setting abroad of writings contrary to the truth, which here now I renounce and refuse, as things writ- ten with my hand, contrary to the truth w^hich I thought in my heart, and writ for fear of death, and to save my hfe, if it might be ; wherein I have written many things untrue. And foras- much, as my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart, therefore, my hand shall first be punished. For if I may come to the fire it shall first be burned. And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy and antichrist, with all false doctrine." The amazement and consternation of the as- sembly were so great, that Cranmer found time to get through with his retraction before he was interrupted : then their furious reproaches knew no bounds. They hastened him to the place of execution ; the fire was kindled, and the venera- ble old man, fastened to the stake, thrust his right hand into the flames, exclaiming, "This hand hath offended — this unworthy right hand!" and there he held it till it was consumed, and there patiently, firmly he stood, till the fire did its work, with eyes raised to heaven, and calling aloud, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !" POLE ARCHBISHOP. 167 O ye who have fallen from your steadfastness, take courage by this example, and fight your way back again to truth and honor ; yea, even though your path lay through the fiery flame ; and as for you who by God's grace. stand in your up- rightness, take heed lest ye fall. *' Be not high- minded, but fear." The martyrdom of Cranmer, which is un- doubtedly to be attributed to the vindictive and unrelenting spirit of the queen, was succeeded on the next day by the consecration of cardinal Pole as archbishop of Canterbury. In several respects, his character stands in strong relief to that of the savage persecutors of Mary's reign, though there is no doubt, that he approved in general of the course pursued by the government, and was most intemperate and violent in his language towards those who favored reform. He seems to us to have been, like his royal mistress, a sincere bigot, and to have carried out legitimately the principles of the Romish Church ; with him, to deny the pa- pal supremac}'- and Romish dogmas, w^as equiva- lent to denial of the whole truth of the Gospel, and for heretics he neither had nor expressed any compassion ; yet natural humanity told him, in spite of his passionate devotion to Rome, that cruelty and bloodshed illy consorted with the re- 16S REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. ligion of the merciful Saviour. Had his coun- sels alone been followed, it is probable that va- rious improvements would have been introduced, and needful reform in life and manners put inforre among the popish clergy, and though persecution's fires would not have gone out, they w^ould have burned less furiously and less indiscriminately. Persecution, however, continued unabated, with rather increasing malignity during the whole of Mary's reign ; and the consequence was, as Southey in his Book of the Chnrch well remarks, "that as the havoc which had been committed under pretext of the Reformation, made the peo- ple rejoice in the re-establishment of popery, so popery was by these cruelties rendered an object of horror and hatred to the nation. Persons, whom neither books nor sermons would have reached, were converted to the Protestant faith by the constancy with which the martyrs suffered. A subject to which they would otherwise have remained indifferent, was forced upon their thoughts, and they felt that the principle could be of no light importance for v^hich so many laid down their lives." The next year, 1557, commenced with the vi- sitation of the two universities, in w^hich some needful reforms were introduced. One of the CLOSE OF Mary's career. 169 chief employments, however, of the visitors was painfully absurd. They dug up the bones of Bu- cer and Fagius, at Cambridge, and burnt them, because their former owners had been heretics, and those of Peter Martyr's wife (at Oxford,) they buried in a dung-heap, because she had died excommunicated ! It would have been well had they spent their impotent malice on such sub- jects as these ; but that would hardly have con- tented them. They burned and made away with living men and women, of all ranks and conditions ; and more than this, from the same source, about this time, England came very near being saddled with the Inquisition and all its horrors. Thanks be to God, that project fell throuoh with. o On the 1st of January, 1558, Calais, the last principal strong-hold of the English on the conti- nent, was taken by the French, chiefly, it w^ould seem, through the culpable negligence of the government in not furnishing supplies. This catastrophe gave the finishing stroke to the un- popularity of the government of Mary, and the whole nation groaned under the weight of op- pression at home and disgrace abroad. The queen, herself, seems to have taken the loss of Calais much to heart, and during the course of 170 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. the year her health rapidly dechnecl. All hope of offspring had been given up, though at one time there was every prospect of so inauspicious an event ; and she herself, treated with cruel in- difference by her disappointed husband, under great suffering, and retaining her blinded and bigotted notions to the last, ended her inglorious reign, November 17th, 1558. Within a few hours cardinal Pole followed her to his eternal account. Mary's character is a chequered one. Sin- cerity in her religious views we freely accord to her ; her voluntary sacrifices fully prove this ; and we cannot but compassionate her hard lot in earher days. It is not to be wondered at that her temper became soured and morose, when we consider how many long years she was under restraint and in actual danger; nor that she so brooded over her wrongs, that when she came to the throne, vindictiveness marked her course to- wards those who had offended her. Evil coun- sellors urged her on : she deemed it a matter of duty to extirpate heretics and to restore the popish rehgion at any and all hazards. The detestable maxims of those who kept in subjection the con- sciences of queens as well as subjects, effectually quieted any scruples vvhich might have suggested themselves as to the lawfulness and policy of this Mary's character. 171 sanguinary course. So much blood was shed during the reign of Mar}^, the sufferings of the people were so extensive, and the loss and ruin of property, health and happiness, were so wide spread, that her name is associated with all that is horrible and repulsive. The impartial voice of history will always point to this memorable period as the reign of " bloody Mary," and as an exemplification of popery in all its naked de- formity and loathsomeness. CHAPTER IX. A. D. 1558—1563. Elizabeth's accession — ker great popularity — hopes and expectations raised — character and policy of the queen — decidedly in favor of the Reformation, yet cautious — wisdom of her measures — contrast between Mary's and Elizabeth's course — crowned by the bishop of Carlisle — Romish bishops refuse to join n the ceremo- ny — acts of parliament — supreme governor — public discussion — bishops deprived — clergy take the oath — Parker archbishop — his consecration — Nag's Head fable — poverty of clergy — low state of learning — Jewell's apology — acts of convocation — articles adopted — second book of Homilies — Reformation substantially completed — conclusion. The death of queen Mary was a providential deliverance. It was so regarded by the nation at large, since none lamented her, none manifested even the appearance of sorrow for her loss. " She died in the morning ; in the afternoon, the bells of Elizabeth's accession. 173 all the churches in London were rung for the ac- cession of Elizabeth, and at night bonfires were made, and tables set out in the streets, at which the citizens caroused :"* — so odious had her short and in2:lorious reisfn become, and so detestable in the eyes of the English people, was the long and cruel persecution which she sanctioned and uro;ed on. Elizabeth came to the throne with the tide of popular feeling most strongly and decidedly in her favor. Her accession was hailed on all sides with joy and exultation, and the extreme unpopu- larity of the last reis^n, served to throw additional brilhancy around that which was just commen- cing with so auspicious prospects. In the excess of joy, the most exalted hopes were entertained, the most sanguine expectations raised, and the wildest and most chimerical plans broached on a great variety of subjects, particularly in relation to religion. It was confidently thought and said, that now reform might be carried on to its fullest extent, and the Church purged thoroughly of the papal leaven of corruption ; and many over-zea- lous persons, not well considering what they were doing, were for proceeding at once to extremi- * Southey's Book of the Church, '^lian. xiv 174 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. ties with popish practices, observances and doc- trines. Not so did the youthful queen think or act. She was a very wise and a cautious person, and not at all disposed to hasty measures or rash steps, even in the matter of reform. The many years of probation through which she had passed, when a single mistake, a single unwary word or two, a single inconsiderate act, would almost certainly have been her ruin, had rendered her cool in judgment, calm in her feelings, and exact in the expression and firm in the maintenance of her wishes. She knew both her strength and her weakness, and she determined on such a line of conduct as would increase the one and diminish the danger of the other, even though she was well aware, that by such a course, she would give of- fence to the zealots of both parties. No ill-con- sidered proceedings were to be allowed ; no line of policy which would alienate the feelings of her subjects, more than possibly could be avoided, was to be thought on for a moment ; and in her pubhc and private acts, she steadily adhered to this determination. Thus she gained the confi- dence of the sober, sensible, and substantial por- tion of the community, w^ithout whose aid she could not have maintained herself, or raised Eng- Elizabeth's policy. 175 land to a pitch of glory, never before equalled in the annals of that great nation. Her own convictions were decidedly in favor of the Reformation, and she from the first deter- mined to give it her countenance and support. Yet, she w^as far from intending to force the con- sciences of her subjects, or require them to be- lieve as she did, under peril of fire and sword, as had been the case in Mary's reign: all parties, both papists and bigotted protestants, were to be kindly and tenderly dealt with, and their scruples suffered within a certain limit ; and if possible, she earnestly desired to embrace in the reformed Church of England, that large body of persons, who, having been under popish influence for years, were devotedly attached to what they were told was Catholic doctrine and practice. The wisdom of her measures for her accomplishment of this end is worthy of especial note, particu- larly, as it was the very reverse of the course pursued by her sister. Mary, bent upon restoring popery, gave her subjects the choice of that or death : conscience was no plea with her: the people must be papists, or burn at the stake ; consequently, her whole reign was full of horrible scenes of bloodshed and misery. Elizabeth was too wise and too merciful to enact over again si- 176 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. milar scenes on the opposite side ; she would force no man's conscience ; she would compel no one to obedience in religious matters, by threatening fire or sword, and visiting these dreadful torments upon the recusants ; far from it : she thought it better to proceed cautiously and carefully, to take the middle ground, to remove all needless and of- fensive expressions against the pope and Roman- ism, and to introduce changes gradually and after long deliberation. She did not deviate from this line of policy, until actually forced so to do ; nor did she proceed to extremities with any, till trea- sonable practices were going on under the name of religion. When the pope madly and wickedly required the Roman Catholics in England to leave the communion of the Church, where they had re- mained in peace for many years; when the detest- ible society of the Jesuits had sent its emissaries to stir up strife and disaffection, not against theChurch only, but against the government ; then the queen put forth the strong hand and punished w^ith se- verity. But it should alwa3^s be remembered, that no woman or child — as frequently in Mary's time — suffered, and no man was put to death by Elizabeth for his religion only. Such being her wishes and views, the first steps which she took were in accordance with the prin- CAUTIOUS PROCEEDINGS. 177 ciples. she had laid down for her own guidance. A committee was appointed to examine into the service of Edward VI. : they proceeded with pru- dence and care, andakered nothing simply for the sake of alteration. No persons were allowed to introduce changes, unsanctioned as yet bylaw ; and though the public service, viz. — the Litany, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Gospel and Epistle, and the Ten Commandments were in English, yet the queen would not suffer any to preach or expound the latter until such time as permission was granted by law. She took early measures for the settling her foreign relations on a peaceful footing, so as to give her more time to reoulate affairs at home. She chose wise and o judicious ministers j made Sir William Cecil, one of the greatestof statesmen, her prime minister, and even went so far as to retain in the privy council twelve of those who had served Mary in the same capacity : on all occasions, too, she sought, by condescending and affable manners, to render her- self popular, and give her a strong hold on the affections of her subjects. Elizabeth was crowned by Oglethorpe, bishop of Carhsle, January 15th, 1559 ; he was the only one of the Romish bishops who would consent to take part in the ceremony, a proceeding which only 9 178 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. exasperated the feelings of the queen against them, and did no good whatever to the cause which they wished to maintain. The parhament restored the queen's authority over all the people, and as Elizabeth scrupled about receiving, and declined the title of " Supreme Head" of the Church, it was altered to the less objectionable expression, " Supreme Governor" in ecclesiastical affair^. Her authority, however, was as ample as she could wish, and her temporal interests were cared for in a way most prejudicial to the resources of the Church. The act of uniformity was also passed this session, and the Prayer Book of Edward VI. restored. This took place after a discussion held in Westminster Abbey, between the popish adherents and the Reformers, in which discussion, the former behaved petulantly, argued illy, and gave up, with a very bad grace, on the second day. On the whole, this public trial of strength did good, because every one naturally concluded that the cause must be weak indeed, which would not bear one or two day's examina- tion. The convocation, which was held at the same time, manifested a strong preference for papistical notions and errors. By act of parliament, all the clergy were re- quired to take the oath of supremacy under pain Parker's consecration. 179 of deprivation : the bishops, thinking to force the queen into their measures, refused, with one ex- ception, Kitchin, of LlandafF, and were ejected from their sees to the number of fourteen. The other orders of the clergy, amounting in all to 9,400, thinking probably, that they could do better service to the cause of popery, by keeping their posts, took the oath readily, only one hundred and eighty-nine out of this number declining. The great difficulty now was, to fill up the bishoprics, vacant by deaths and deprivations, and had not Elizabeth been able to look to those who had gone abroad in Mary's reign, she would have been placed in a position of extreme per- plexity and uncertainty. Providentially, among the exiles, were some in episcopal orders : through these the succession was continued, and the va- cant sees filled up. Matthew Parker was selected for archbishop, a most wise choice, and the other sees were filled with able and efficient men. Parker was consecrated at Lambeth, December 17th, 1559, by Barlow, late bishop of Bath and Wells, then elect of Chichester ; John Scory, late bishop of Chichester, then elect of Hertford; Miles Coverdale, late bishop of Exeter ; and John Hodgkins, suffi'agan bishop of Bedford ; the 180 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. ceremony being performed according to king Ed- ward's ordinal.* The scandalous- spoliations of church property during the preceding reigns, had rendered the clergy extremely poor, and so diminished the re- venues of the Church, that it was witli great dif- ficulty that persons could be ' found to fill the ranks of the rtiinistry to any advantage.: the state of learning in the universities was at the lowest ebb ; ^superstitions reigned where ignorance pre- vailed, and numbers were ordp^ined from, the ranks of me-chanics and persons- in the lower walks of fife, good and well-intentioned men no doubt, but quite Unfitted for the duties of the sta- tion to which they had been advanced. Parker, however, soon found that this would not do, and put a stop to so unwise a course. * The contemptible story of the Nag's Head ordination, got up by the Romanists, more than forty years after the event o' Parker's consecration, is hardly worth the trouble of refuting, more especi- ally, since Dr. Lingard himself, the popish historian, is compelled to reject it utterly as fabulous. Every once in a while, the story is revived, as was the case a short tinle ago, a popishlaishop in Phila- delphia, endeavoring to bolster vip the exploded fiction ; but it is tolerably certain, that the papists themselves do not believe a word of it, though they try to make use of it for the purpose of denying the validity of the orders of tiie Church of England. THE ARTICLES ADOPTED. 181 In January, 1563, parliament again met. The bishops seem previously to have been actively engaged in the duties of their office, and in pre- paring for the steps now about to be taken. The learned and eloquent bishop Jewel's far-famed Apology for the Church of England, had been issued the year before, and was then, as now, re- garded as authoritatively expressing the views of the Church which it defended so eloquently and well. The convocation met at the same time, and after a full and thorough discussion and examination of the forty-two articles of Edward Sixth reign, the number of thirty-nine was agreed upon and subscribed by both houses. They were printed in Latin and English. In March, the larger Catechism, as revised and enlarged by dean Nowel, was approved by the lower house of convocation. It is the Catechism of the Prayer Book, excepting the latter portion relating to the sacraments, which was added in 1604, after the Hampton Court Conference. The second Book of Homilies was printed about this period. Bishop Jewel and the archbishop had the principal hand in its composition. With the establishment of these articles and documents of faith, as contained in the Prayer Book, we may consider the Church of England 182 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. to have attained that position which she has ever since held. Consequently, here the history of the Reformation, properly speaking, ends. What subsequently took place, in Elizabeth's reign, such as the troubles arising out of the pope's bull, which drove off many of the Romanists, who had con- tinued in communion with the Church of Ens^land up to this time, and which gave rise to a popish sect in England ; the painfully vexatious trials which sprung from the introduction of disputes brought from abroad, and which were the fruitful parent of puritans, non-conformists and sects of all sorts and descriptions ; the severe measures of Eliza- beth, to produce uniformity and conformity ; the necessity of capital executions, in order to crush the seditious and treasonable practices of the Je- suits and others ; and similar troubles and trials, come not within the scope of this sketch of the English Reformation; for though they all, in dif- ferent ways it is true, have had more or less effect upon the tone of doctrine, the spirit of the clergy, and the connection of the Church with the state ; though they have raised up a host of enemies, and given rise to evils not easy to be repressed or light in their effects upon the well- being of the Church of England ; though they have tended to retard the perfecting of that good REFORMATION AS COMPLETED. 183 work which the Reformers so nobly begun and so bravely carried on ; still they have never been able to produce any change of material conse- quence, whether in the doctrines or observances of the Church, and the Prayer Book remains, and, doubtless, will remain, the standard of doc- trine and practice, as of highest authority in the Church, next after the Holy Scriptures, of which, indeed, it is to be regarded as the sound inter- preter. CONCLUSION. We have now arrived at the close of the history of the Reformation. We might safely leave the whole subject with the thoughtful and intelligent, assured that they would draw right conclusions from what has been laid before them. We shall, however, even at the risk of being tedious, beg the indulgence of our readers a few moments, while we call their attention to some points which must never be forgotten by us who are the in- heritors of the blessings procured for the Church by the labors, prayers and deaths of the Refor- mers. We will do this as concisely as possible. 1. The Reformation was absolutely required. Corruption had gone to such lengths that the present state of things could continue no longer. The faith of the Church as contained in the creeds had been added to, and so changed by numerous CONCLUSION. 185 unscriptural additions, that it was buried out of sight, and had become almost wholly inoperative and unknown ; and the worship of the Church was excessively superstitious, puerile, and hurtful to the souls of men. 2. The Reformation was lawfully conducted and carried through. The bishops and clergy, in their proper capacity, acted as the ambassa- dors for Christ and the rulers in the Church, and deferred in all things to Holy Scripture and ancient authors. Popish novelties were cast oH^ Catholic truths retained and maintained, and the Church set free from the bondage of corrupt doctrine and abominable practice. 3. The Church of England resumed her right- ful, original authorit}^ to regulate her own affairs. The Church existed in Britain in apostolic days, long before popery was dreamed of. By degrees, the bishop of Rome usurped dominion over in- dependent Churches, England being of the num- ber. At the Reformation, the bishops and clergy, the representatives of the Church of England, with hardly an exception, asserted and maintained the independence of the Church in the realm of England, and renounced the pope's supremacy. 4. Consequently, in acting for herself, the Church of England is entirely free from the guilt 9* 1S6 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. of schism, charged upon her by the papists. She is equally free from the guilt of heretical de- parture from the faith once delivered to the saints — a charge which is so justly applicable to the Romish Church — since in all things she takes the Holy Scriptures for the standard, and the creeds of the Church as the expression of the true faith. 5. Every thing was done deliberately, cauti- ously and resolutely. The Scriptures were trans- lated and the version revised and improved several times : the public services were altered as httle as might be, consistently with the preservation of sound doctrine : the people were led, step by step, into the clearer light of Gospel purity and truth; and the Prayer Book, w^hen completed, was resolutely defended against both popish and puritan attacks. 6. The Church of England was reformed^ not founded anew: it was the old^ original Church with the corruptions removed, not a new Church taking its start at this date. The Church was there before the pope ever sent to England or ever claimed authority in that kingdom : it con- tinued there while he was lording it over it ; and when Providence opened the way, it took its rightful position once more. The papists charge it upon the Church that it began with Cranmer, CONCLUSION. 187 and Ridley, and Latimer, and some Protestants use similar language. Both are wrong, the one wickedly so, the other, perhaps carelessly so. 7. The perpetual interference of the state was in reference mainly to temporal matters, the re- venues of the Church, thejurisdiction of bishops, &c. The state never pretended of itself to settle doctrine or give spiritual office and power, which are derived from Christ alone, through the channel of His appointment. Consequendy the sneers of papists and others are without cause, when they revile the Church of England for the share which the state took in the Reformation. 8. The Reformers are to be charitably judged. Their faults were the faults of the age in which they lived, and their errors were errors of judg- ment. The great work which they did is not to be undervalued on the one hand, nor they lauded too highly on the other. They labored under difficulties of which we have no adequate con- ception, and they accomplished a great reform with as little imperfection as can be expected at the hands of fallible men. Let us give them due honor and praise, and let us defend them from all unjust as well as ungenerous assaults. 9. The Reformation has procured for us reli- gious freedom. It has unsealed the Fountain of 188 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. divine truth, given the mind liberty, set it free from popish tyranny, allowed the people to search into the Divine Oracles, required nothing to be believed as essential to salvation except Avhat Holy Scripture contains, and bestowed upon us a l)Ook of devotions which contains the noblest remains of antiquity, and the most glowing as- pirations of devout souls in all past ages. • Wherefore, let us lay to heart the lessons of warning and wisdom which the history of this eventful period so forcibly teaches. Let us render hearty thanks to Almighty God that He conducted .safely through the great peril of fire and sword, the Church of England, to whom we, Protestant Episcopalians, owe so much, and whom we re- gard with so deep and true affection. Let us, especially, seek to show our appreciation of our manifold blessings and privileges, by striving to live holy and consistent lives, in all godly quiet- ness and honesty. Then shall we truly be in- heritors of the blessing, and God shall visit us for good. ^ APPENDIX. APPEND IX. I. Glossary of I erms. Altar, the place on which gifts or sacrifices are offered to God. The Lord's table is figuratively termed an altar, since on it are offered to God the symbols of the one great sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In the early Church, for three hundred years or more, the Christian altars were of wood : stone was afterwards introduced, and since the papists perverted the use of them to support the dogma of transubstantiation, they were removed and tables of wood substituted. (See Vp. 114.) Annates, the first fruits, or first year's income of bishop- rics and benefices : they were paid to the pope by every bishop before he was invested. Subsequently, they became payable by the clergy in general. Appeals, were made to.the pope in order to decide cases : by this means, they were carried out of England and decided at Rome. 192 APPENDIX. Auricular Confession, confession made in private to the . priest as a matter of duty. The Romish church makes this a sacrament, and by means of it has the people completely in its power. Bulls, mandates of the pope of Rome, so called from the seal (bulla) of lead, or sometimes of gold, affixed to it. Canons, (1) laws of the Church (2) clergy of a church or cathedral. The Canons Regular, were those as- sembled in convents, and living under the rules framed by Augustine. The rest of the clergy were called Se- cular Canons, Canonry, the office held by a canon. Celibacy of the clergy, the state of single life imposed upon the clergy by the church of Rome. Chancellor, a bishop's legal adviser and assistant in set- tling causes which arise in a diocese. Chantry, a little chapel or particular altar in a cathedral church, built and endowed for the maintenance of a priest, to sing masses for the soul of the founder to redeem it out of pujgatory. Chapels are of various sorts— free chapels are those founded by the king, and exempted from episcopal juris- diction. Chapter, consists of the dean, with a certain number of canons or prebendaries. Convocation, the assembly of the bishops and the other clergy of the Church of England, to consult on eccle- siastical affairs. Corporal presence. See Transubstantiation. Dean, the chief of the chapter and a magistrate, next in APPENDIX. 193 degree to the bishop : so called, because he formerly presided over ten prebendaries or canons, {decanus, from decern, ten.) Deanery, office of a dean. Friars, name given to monks of all orders. They are generally distinguished into four principal branches : — 1. Franciscans, Minors, or Grey Friars ; 2. Augus- tine ; 3. Dominicans, or Black Friars ; 4. Carmelites, or White Friars. Heresy, a denial of the faith, as it is contained in the creeds and standards of the Church. Holy Water, water blessed by the priest, and placed in a shallow basin at the entrance of the church. The people cross themselves with it on going into or leaving the church. Images, figures made of wood, stone or metal, represent- ing the Saviour, the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the saints, &;c. Jurisdiction, the authority given by the king to exercise the office of bishop in a particular diocese : jurisdic- tion depends on the state ; the offi^ce of the bishop is derived from Christ Himself. Legate, (pope's,) a cardinal sent by the pope to act in his stead in a foreign country. He absolved the excom- municated, called s}Tiods, granted dispensations, filled up vacant benefices, heard appeals, .&;c. Martyr, one who lays down his life for religion. Mass, masses, (Latin, missa,) the form of celebrating the holy communion in the Romish church. The popish doctrine on this point is, that our Saviour is offered 194 APPENDIX. anew as a sacrifice by the priest, at every celebration of the Eucharist. Masses are said to be effectual for the dead as well as the living. Mendicants, begging friars. They travel from place to place and live by contributions. Metropolitan, the bishop who presides over the other bi shops of a province. Monastery, a convent or house for monks, mendicant fri- ars and nuns. Abbey, priory, nunnery and the like, are equivalent in meaning. Penance, some punishment or discipline imposed by the priest on penitents. Peter^s-pence, an annual tribute of one penny, paid at Rome, out of every family, at the feast of St. Peter. Pilgrimage, a journey made to some holy place in order to adore the relics of some deceased saint. They were excessively frequent in the middle ages. Pope, the supreme head of the Romish church. An- ciently, all bishops were called popes (or fathers) ; af- terwards the bishop of Rome usurped it to himself alone. PrcBmunire, a law term given to a species of offence in the nature of a contempt against the king and his go- vernment. The name is derived from the first words of the writ, preparatory to a prosecution for the offence. This statute was made to restrain encroachments of Romish clergy. Henry VIII. used it as a tremendous engine of persecution. Prebend, stipend or salary of a prebendary. Prebendary, a clergyman attached to a cathedral or col- legiate church. APPENDIX. 195 Primate, same as metropolitan : the archbishop of Can- terbury is primate of all England, the archbishop of York is primate of England. Regulars, those who observe the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Relics, remains of bodies or clothes of saints or martyrs : they are kissed, revered, carried in procession, in fact, worshipped. Sacramentaries, those who believed with Zuingle, the Swiss Reformer, that consubstantiation (Luther's doc- " trine,) is false. They held the Eucharist to be a mere commemoration. Schism, dividing the body of the Church, breaking off from its communion, and of course, losing the privileges which it enjoys. Shrine, the place where something sacred, or a relic is deposed it. Supremacy ; the bishop of Rome claims to be supreme over all bishops and Churches. (See p. 24.) Synod, a meeting of the clergy, generally of a province or kingdom. Transubstaniiation, (See pp. 30, 108, 109, 199.) 11. Translations of the Bible. A. D. 706. Adhelm, Saxon Psalms. 721. Egbert's Four Gospels. 734. Bede's St. John's Gospel. 196 APPENDIX. A. D. 880. Alfred's Version of the Psalms. 1340. RoUe's (or Hampole's) Psalms, &;c. 1380. Wickliffe's Bible. 1526. Tyndale's New Testament. 1530. " Pentateuch. 1531. " Jonas. G. Joye, Isaiah. 1534. ' ' Jeremiah, Psalms, Song of Moses. 1535. Coverdale's Bible. 1537. Matthew's Bible {i. e. J. Rogers's.) 1539. Great Bible (Cranmer's.) Taverner's Bible. 1560. Geneva Bible. 1568. Bishop's Bible (Parker's.) 1582. Rhemes New Testament. 1609. Douay Bible. 1611. Authorized Version (the one now in use.) Romish versions. III. Dates relative to the Prayer Book. 1545. The King's Primer, printed by authority. 1548. Communion Service. 1549. First Liturgy of Edward VI. published. 1550. First Ordination Service published. 1552. Second Liturgy of Edward VI. Second Ordination Service. 1560. Liturgy of Elizabeth. APPENDIX. 197 A. D. 1604. Alterations introduced by James I. 1633. " " by James I. and Charles I. 1661. Last revision. Authorized Liturgy. IV. The three Creeds so often spoken of" in the course of the History of the Reformation are — the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, (both in the American Prayer Book,) and the Athanasian Creed, (in the English Prayer Book.) The Creed of the Romish Church, as established by the Council of Trent, (a. d. 1552) commonly called the Creed of Pope Pius IV , is as follows : — I. N. believe and profess firmly each and every thing which is contained in the symbol of faith which the holy Roman Church uses, viz. : — I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and eafth, and of all things visible and invisible :• And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds ; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made ; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into 198 APPENDIX. heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father ; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead ; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, and the Son ; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. And I believe one catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism-^or the remission of sins ; and I look for the re- surrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. The apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions, and the other observances and constitutions of the same Church, 1 most firmly admit and embrace. I also admit the holy Scripture, according to that sense which holy mother the Church has held and does hold, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpreta- tion of holy Scriptures. Nor will I ever receive and in- terpret it but according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers. I also profess that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, though not all for every one, namely, baptism, confirma- tion, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order, and matrimony ; and that they confer grace ; and that of these, baptism, confirmation, and order, cannot be repeated without sacrilege. I also receive and admit the received and approved ceremonies of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the aforesaid sacraments. APPENDIX. 199 I embrace and receive all things and every thing de- fined and declared by the holy council of Trent concern- ing original sin and concerning justification. I equally profess that in the mass there is offered to God a tme, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead : and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there are truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and that a conversion is made of the whole substance of the bread into His body, of the whole substance of the wine into His blood : which conversion the Catholic Church calls transubstantiation. I confess also, that under one kind only, Christ whole and entire, and a true sacrament, is received. I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. And likewise, that the saints reigning together with Christ are to be worshipped and invoked ; and that they offer prayers to God for us : and that their relics are to be worshipped. I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, and of the mother of God, ever a virgin, and also ot the other saints, are to be had and retained ; and that due honor and worship is to be given them. I also affirm that the power of indulgences was left by Christ in the Church ; and that the use of them is most wholesome to Christian people. I acknowledge the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Ro- man Church, the mother and mistress of all Churches ; 200 APPENDIX. and I promise and swear true obedience to the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, and vicar of Jesus Christ. And all other things delivered^ defined, and declared by the sacred canons, and the general councils, and es- pecially by the holy council of Trent, I receive without doubting, and profess : and withal, all things contrary thereto, and all heresies whatsoever, condemned, and rejected, and accursed by the Church, I equally condemn, reject, and accurse. This is the true Catholic faith, (out of which no man can be saved,) which at this time I ireely profess and unfeignedly hold — and that I will be careflil most con- stantly (with God's help) to hold fast and confess the same, entire and inviolate, to the very last breath of life, and that, to the utmost of my pov/er, it be held, taught, and preached, by those put under me, or such as I shall have charge over in my calling, I, the said iV., promise, vow, and swear. So help me God, and these holy Gos- pels of God ! V. Oaths of bishops io the Jang and pope. In the text we have spoken briefly of the protest which Cranmer made when he took the customary oath to the pope. It will be convenient and show the need of some protestation or other on the part of a bishop, to have at hand the oaths which were taken by every bishop both to APPENDIX. 201 the pope and the king. Very probably our readers will think, that the only difierence between the archbishop and his compeers was, that he was more honest than they, and unwilling to take oaths so diametrically opposed to each other, without letting it be clearly understood, that he should regard himself bound in all respects by his oath to the king. The sentences in italic are worthy of special note. 1. Oath to the pope : — I, John, bishop or abbot of A,, from this hour forward, shall be faithful and obedient to St. Peter, and to the holy church of Rome, and to my lord the pope and his suc- cessors canonically entering. I shall not be of counsel nor consent that they shall lose either life or member, or shall be taken, or suffer any violence or any wrong, by any means. Their counsel to me credited by them, their messengers, or letters, I shall not willingly discover to any person. The papacy of Rome, the rules of the holy fathers, and the regality of St. Peter, I shall help and maintain, and defend against all men. The legate of the see apostolic, going and coming, I shall honorably entreat. The rights, honors, privileges, authorities, of the church of Rome, and of the pope and his successors, I shall cause to be conserved, defended, augmented, and pro- moted. I shall not he, in council, treaty, or any act in ivhich any thing shall be imagined against him, or the church of Rome, their rights, seats, honors, or powers. And if I know any such to be moved or compassed, I shall resist it to my power, and as soon as I can I shall advertise him, or such as may give him knowledge. The 202 APPENDIX. rules of the holy fathers, the decrees, ordinances, sen- tences, dispositions, reservations, provisions, and com- mandments, apostolic, to my power I shall keep, and cause to be kept of others. Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our holy father and his successors I shall resist and persecute to my power. I shall come to the synod when I am called,, except I be letted by a canonical im- pediment. The thresholds of the apostles I shall visit yearly, personally, or by my deputy. I shall not alienate or sell my possessions, without the pope's counsel. So God help me and the holy evangelists. 2. Oath to the king : — I, John, bishop of A., utterly renounce, and clearly for- sake, all such clauses, words, sentences, and grants, which I have, or shall have, hereafter of the pope's holiness, of and for the bishopric of A., that in anywise hath been, is, or hereafter may be hurttul or prejudicial to your highness, your heirs, dignity, privilege, or estate royal. And also I do swear, that I shall be faithful and true, and faith and truth I shall bear to you, my sovereign lord, and to your heirs, kings of the same, of life and limb, and yearly wor- ship, above all creatures, for to live and die for you and yours, against ail people. And diligently I shall be at- tendant to ail your needs and business, after my wit and power, and your counsel I shall keep and hold, knowledg- ing myself to hold my bishopric of you only, beseeching you of restitution of the temporalities of the same, pro- mising, as before, that I shall be a faithful, true, and obe- dient subject to your said highness, heirs, and successors, during my life, and the services and other things due to APPENDIX. , 20S your highness, for the restitution of the temporalities of the said bishopric, I shall truly do, and obediently perform. So God help me, and all saints. VI. Cranmer^s Recantations. The archbishop is said to have made six different re- cantations within the space of only a few days : the first four are far from being express, and could have given little satisfaction to the papists : the sixth is excessively abject and wordy, and was probably written by cardinal Pole ; the fifth is the one usually quoted, and is translated by Fox as follows : — I, Thomas Cranmer, late archbishop of Canterbury do renounce, abhor, and detest all manner of heresies and errors of Luther and Zuinglius, and all other teachings which are contrary to sound and true doctrines. And I believe most constantly in my heart, and with my mouth, I confess, one holy and Catholic Church visible, without the which there is no salvation, and thereof I acknowledge the bishop of Rome to be supreme head in earth, whom I acknowledge to be the highest bishop and pope, and Christ's vicar, unto whom all Christian people ought to be subject. And as concerning the sacraments, I believe and worship in the sacrament of the aUar the very body and blood of Christ, being contained most truly under the forms of bread and wine, the bread through the mighty power of God bemg turned into the body of our Saviour 204 APPENDIX, Jesus Christ, and the wine into His blood. And in the other six sacraments also, like as in this, I believe and hold as the universal Church holdeth, and the Church of Rome judgeth and determineth. Furthermore, I believe that there is a place of purgatory, where souls departed are punished for a time, for whom the Church doth godlily and wholesomely pray, like as it doth honor saints, and maketh prayers to them. Finally, in all things I profess, that I do not otherwise believe than the Catholic Church, and the Church of Rome, holdeth and teacheth. 1 am sorry that I ever held or thought otherwise. And I be- seech Almighty God, that of His mercy He will vouch- safe to forgive me whatsoever I have offended against God or His Church ; and also I desire and beseech all Christian people to pray for me. And all such as have been deceived either by my example or doctrine, I require them by the blood of Jesus Christ that they will return to the unity of the Church, that we may be all of one mind without schism or division. And to conclude, as I submit myself to the Catholic Church of Christ, and to the supreme head thereof, so I submit myself unto the most excellent majesties of Philip and Mary, king and queen of this realm of England, &;c., and to all their laws and ordinances, ])eing ready always as a faithful sub- ject ever to obey them. And God is my witness, that I have not done this for favor or fear of any person, but willingly, and of my own mind, as well to the discharge of my o^A^l conscience as to the instruction of others. Per me Thomam Cranmer. Witnesses to ) Frater Johannes de Villa Garcina. this subsc7iptiony 5 Henricus Sydall. APPENDIX. ^OS VII. List of Books on the Reformation^ Which may be consulted with advantage by those who wish flirther information on the points briefly treated of in this volume : — Bishop Burnet's History of the Reformation, 3 vols. 8vo. Bishop Short's History of the Church of England, one vol. 8vo. Rev. I. J. Blunt's Sketch of the Reformation in En- gland, one vol. 12mo. Southey's Book of the Church, 8vo. Rev. C W. Le Bas's Lives of Wickliffe and Cran- mer, 3 vols. ISmo. 0^ The above have been republished in the United States, and can be obtained at reasonable prices. Add to these, Carwithen's History of the Church of England, 3 vols. 8vo. Fox's Book of Martyr's, 8 vols. 8vo., (the second and third vols, particularly valuable ) Fuller's Church History of Britain. Le Bas's Life of Bishop Jewel. Strype's Lives, and Ecclesiastical Memorials. Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography. 10* B^ tljc same %nti)ox. THE CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTED IN THE WAYS OF THE GOSPEL AND THE CHURCH, A SERIES OF DISCOURSES Delivered in St. James's Church, Goshen, New- York, during the years 1840—1842. WITH A COPIOUS INTRODUCTION ON THE CHURCH, THE VALUE OF THE LITURGY, AND NOTICES OP THE FEASTS AND FASTS. One elegant volume. 16mo. 374 pp. $1,25. B^ tlje same ^tttl)0t. THE ^oung Cl)urrl)man'0 iHiBcdlang. VOLUME I. FOR 1846. Three Hundred and Eighty-four pages. Small 8vo. AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE FOR THE YOUNG. PUBLISHED ON THE FIRST OF EVERY MONTH, Price $1,50 per annum Ill tl) t Ij^X CB S , THE LIFE AND REMAINS OP THE KEY. WM. JACKSON, LATE RECTOR OF ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, N. Y. In a handsome 8vo. volume. THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE OF A TRINITY. BY THE REV. WM. JONES, (OF NAYLAND.) One volume. 18mo. In tlje |)rjess. |) It r i t a n i tn NOT GENUINE PROTESTANTISM. BEING A REVIEW OF « THE PURITANS AND THEIR PRINCIPLES, BY EDWIN HALL." BY THK REV. A. B. CHAPIN, A, M A handsome 16mo. E^c^n ti^ |)ttblisl)jel^. fttcantatton: OR THE CONFESSIONS OF A CONVERT TO ROMANISM : A TALE OF DOMESTIC AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN ITALY, EDITED BY THE REV. WM. INGRAHAM KIP, M. A., AUTHOR OF " THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME," ETC. One elegant volume. 16mo. l^cccntl^ JPublisl)eb. THE CI) It rc I) m a It ' 5 fl e a it FOR HIS FAITH AND PRACTICE. WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE DOCTRINE OF DEVELOPMENT. BY THE REV. N. S. RICHARDSON One volume 12mo. Date Due FE 20 'R'^ 11 i Bia^i'Witttiiif^il^ ' 1 ' ^ II • 'lYfl ■' ■\ii■ai\l\'imi^^■,^' BW5115.S74 History of the reformation in England. Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library ^■.. ■ ! V« — ^sr. ■S^^^^i^:- P!&?#