Archbishop Whitgift presided. Two of the principal of ELIZABETH. these articles were (1) God, from eternity, hath predestinated some to life; hath reprobated some to death. (2) The number of the predestinate is preordained and certain, and can neither be increased nor diminished. The queen disapproved of these articles, and they were never adopted by the Church. 88. Elizabeth closed a long and prosperous Death of reign on March 24, 1603, and was succeeded Elizabeth. A.D. 1603. by James VI. of Scotland, called James I of England. In her reign was completed that great and happy change concerning which we cannot do better than adopt the eloquent words of Professor Blunt *: :- "To the Reformation we owe it that, in the general advance of science, and the general appetite for inquiry, the religion of the land has been placed in a position to require nothing but a fair field and no favour, in order to assert its just pretensions. We are here embarrassed by no dogmas of corrupt and unenlightened times, still riveted upon our reluctant acceptance by an idea of papal or synodical infallibility; but stand with the Bible in our hands, prepared to abide by it when rightly interpreted, because furnished with evidences for its truth (thanks to the Reform *The sa:ne eminent writer | enumerates as defects imputed to the Reformation (1) a want of ecclesiastical discipline; (2) an insufficient provision for the edu- Whitgift. Clement VIII. 88. Give the date of the death of Queen Elizabeth. *[Note] In what respect was the Reformation defective? Give a summary of the benefits of the Reformation. Pius V. ELIZABETH. ation for this also!) which appeal to the understanding Whitgift. with confidence; so that no man competently acquainted with them need shrink from the encounter of the infidel, or feel for a moment that his faith is put to shame by his philosophy. Infidelity there may be in the country, for there will ever be men who will not trouble themselves to examine the grounds of their religion, and men who will not dare to do it; but how far more inteuse would it have been, and more dangerous, had the spirit of the times been, in other respects, what it is, and the Reformation yet to come; religion yet to be exonerated of weights which sunk it heretofore in this country, and still sink it in countries around us; inquiry to be resisted in an age of curiosity; opinions to be bolstered up (for they may not be retracted) in an age of incredulity; and pageants to be addressed to the senses, instead of arguments to the reason, in an age which at least calls itself profound! As it is, we have nothing to conceal; nothing to evade; nothing to impose : the reasonableness, as well as righteousness, of our reformed faith recommends it; and whatever may be the shocks it may have to sustain from scoffs, and doubts, and clamour, and licentiousness, and seditious tongues, and an absurd press, it will itself, we doubt not, prevail against them all, and save, too (as we trust), the nation which has cherished it from the terrible evils, both moral, social, and political, that come of a heart of unbelief." ** *Blunt's Sketch of the Reformation in England, pages 325, et seq. CHAPTER VII. EVENTS SUBSEQUENT TO THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH TO THE FINAL REVISION OF THE LITURGY. The Hampton Court 89. The accession of James I., of the house of Stuart, excited the hopes of those who desired eccle siastical changes, and a petition, called, from the number of names attached to it, the Millenary Petition, was drawn up, praying for an amendment as regarded (1) The Church Service. They objected to the cross in baptism; interrogatories to infants; confirmation; baptism by women; the cap and surplice; the ring in marriage; bowing at the name of Jesus; communion without previous examination; the terms priest and absolution; the reading of the Apocrypha, &c. (2) Church Ministers. They prayed that none but preaching ministers be admitted to the ministry; that non-residency be not permitted; that subscription be not urged, except only to the articles of religion and the king's supremacy, according to law. (3) Church Administration. They desired that bishops leave their commendams; the abolition of pluralities; the restoration of impropriations annexed to bishoprics and colleges to preaching incumbents; the charging of lay impropriations with a sixth or seventh for clerical maintenance. JAMES I. Whitgift. Clement VIII. 89. What was the occasion of the Hampton Court Conference, and what its result? What was the Millenary Petition? State what were the objections of the Puritans to the Established ecclesiastical system at the accession of James I. JAMES I. (4) Church Discipline. They objected to excommunication or Whitgift. censure by a layman, or withont the pastor's consent: certain Clement VIII. abuses in the ecclesiastical courts; the too frequent use of the oath ex officio, by which men were forced to accuse themselves; the incautious granting of marriage licenses, without banns asked. In answer to this petition, James appointed a Conference between the Puritans and the Church party, which was held at Hampton Court on January 14, 1603, and the two following days. The king himself acted as moderator : the established system was represented by Archbishop Whitgift, and Bishops Bancroft (London), Matthew (Durham), Bilson (Winchester), &c.; and the other side by Drs. Reynolds and Sparke from Oxford, and Mr. Knewstubbs and Mr. Chatterton from Cambridge. The alterations agreed to were inconsiderable They consisted principally of the omissions of two portions of the Apocrypha, the close of the History of Susanna, and the story of Bel and the Dragon; the insertion in the liturgy of prayers and thanksgivings for special occasions; and the forbidding of baptism by women, or by any except lawful ministers. Bancroft. The Canons. } 90. Soon after the Hampton Court Conference, Archbishop Whitgift died. He was succeeded by Bancroft, by whose care A.D. 1604. the Church was provided with a body of canons, 141 in number, collected out of previous articles, injunctions, and synodical acts, in the reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. These canons were ratified by the king; and such of them as have not become obsolete, or 90. Who succeeded Whitgift as Archbishop of Canterbury? When and by whom were the present canons drawn up? inoperative through counter-legislation, still continue to bind the clergy: but as they never received parliamentary sanction, they are not binding on the laity, except where they accord with previous law. The Gunpowdery 91. The measures of the new reign were distasteful, not only to the Puritans, but to the Romanists also, for these anticipated increased toleration and favour from the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, instead of a renewal of statutes against the dangerous society of Jesuits. Under feelings of disappointment, they formed that scheme for blowing up king, lords, and commons, known as the A.D. 1605. "Gunpowder Treason." Catesby, Percy, Digby, and other desperate characters, were implicated in the plot, which was to have been carried into effect on the 5th of November by Guido Fawkes. A merciful Providence averted the design, by means of a mysterious letter of warning sent to Lord Monteagle, and Fawkes was apprehended just as everything was arranged for the explosion. Two Jesuits, Garnet and Oldcorn, were executed; and two others, Gerard and Greenway, effected their escape. Garnet died apparently penitent; but the Roman Court, by canonising him on the faith of a pretended miracle, did its best to confound this diabolical plot with the evidences of transcendant sanctity. Certain statutes against the Romanists were subsequently passed; and in order to distinguish between the traitorous and the loyal, JAMES I. Bancroft. Clement VIII. Paul V. Give What is the 91. What did the Romanists expect upon the accession of James I? an account of the " Gunpowder Treason " What was the conduct of the Roman Court as regards one of the executed conspirators? "Oath of Allegiance," and when did it originate? State the papal declaration with regard to it. |