other separate papers1, also in Latin, of the same general form, and of nearly the same length, refer to points which were then actually disputed, and are most probably draughts of the articles which were not accepted by the Lutheran divines. tance of the 1539. Articles of But there are other reasons for fixing our atten- The importion upon the Thirteen Articles of 1538, as the basis Articles of of the projected alliance with the Germans. While indicating the disposition of our leading reformers to acquiesce in the dogmatic statements which had been propounded by the Augsburg Confession, they had a very important prospective bearing, and seem to have constituted the ground-work of the Articles now in use. No one can deny indeed that the framers of the Forty-two Articles in the reign of Edward VI. drew very largely out of the Lutheran Confession, which had been compiled in 1530; but the discovery of the Thirteen Articles has made it probable that Basis of the the derivation, instead of being direct, as was hitherto 1552. generally supposed, took place through the medium of this later channel. Such an inference is at least supported by the fact, that the expressions in Edward VI.'s Formulary, usually adduced to prove its connexion with the Confession of Augsburg, are also found in the Book of Articles: while it contains others, which can be traced as far as the Book of Articles, but which will be sought for in vain in the Confession of Augsburg.' From what we know of their general character, the framers of Edward VI.'s Articles would be anxious, in the execution of their undertaking, to meet, if possible, the views of their brethren on the continent, as well as of their countrymen at home; 1 Ibid. Iv. 292 seqq. This bundle has been re-examined for the benefit of the present work. It contains, among other valuable pieces, the exposition of the 'Sacrament of Confirmation,' contained in the 'Institution of a Christian man' (which is said to have been 'agreed upon com muni consensu'): and also Cer- Connexion with other Articles exhibited. Art. I. Art. II. Art. III. Art. IV. and they could scarcely pursue a surer method of attaining their object than by borrowing from a form of doctrine already approved by both'.' The Articles, thus serving as a link between the religious Formularies of the two countries, are drawn up under the following heads: (1) De Unitate Dei et Trinitate Personarum; (2) De Peccato Originali; (3) De duabus Christi naturis; (4) De Justificatione; (5) De Ecclesia; (6) De Baptismo; (7) De Eucharistia; (8) De Pœnitentia; (9) De Sacramentorum usu; (10) De Ministris Ecclesiæ; (11) De Ritibus Ecclesiasticis; (12) De Rebus Civilibus; (13) De Corporum Resurrectione et Judicio extremo. The means of comparing them minutely with the Augsburg Confession on the one hand, and with the subsequent English Articles on the other, will be provided in the Appendix to the present volume: but the most cursory perusal is enough to convince us how closely they adhere both in arrangement and in substance to the elder of those Formularies of Faith, and how much at the same time they have anticipated of the materials of the later. The first of the XIII. Articles, though bearing a different title, is almost a verbal copy of Art. I. of the Augsburg Confession, and includes the first of the XLII. Articles. The second corresponds with Art. II. of the Augsburg, but, like the eighth of the XLII. Articles, it speaks of 'peccatum originale' instead of 'peccatum originis,' and contains the expression 'originalis justitia,' which is not in the Augsburg. The third is identical with Art. III. of the Augsburg, and includes the second of the XLII. Articles. The fourth is a much longer statement on the subject of justification than Art. IV. of the Augsburg, yet both affirm that men are accepted by God 'gratis propter Christum per fidem.' The English definition is, however, different in some measure from the German, including, like the Articles of 1536, the idea of 2 See App. No. II. 1 Ibid. I. XXIV. 'a true renovation in Christ' as equivalent to 'remission of sins.' This Article also embodies a portion of Arts. V. and VI. of the Augsburg, but has no expressions in common with the corresponding Articles of 1552. The fifth is a considerable departure from Art. Art. v. VII. of the Augsburg, though manifestly copying some expressions from thence, as also from Art. VIII. It views the Church under two aspects, either as completely holy and the mystical body of Christ, or as the congregation of those who have been baptized, and have not been excommunicated. This latter it describes as the catholic and apostolic Church composed of all national and particular Churches. No trace exists in it of the twentieth Article of 1552: but, what is very remarkable, it includes the thirtythird and the twenty-seventh of that code, using language in both cases which is not found in the Augsburg Confession. The sixth, on the subject of baptism, is much Art. vI. fuller than Art. IX. of the Augsburg, though stating precisely the same doctrine. It seems to have much in common with the Articles of 1536, and, so far as language is concerned, has no affinity with the twenty-eighth of the XLII. Articles. The seventh is also an expansion of Art. X. of Art. VII. the Augsburg, and agrees verbatim with the statement adopted in Germany during the Conferences of 1535. It has no terms in common with the twentyninth of the XLII. Articles. The eighth is a long and for the most part Art. VIII. original essay on Penitence.' It may however be compared with Arts. XI. and XII. of the Augsburg. The ninth, respecting the efficacy of the sacraments, Art. Ix. has much in common with Art. XIII. of the Augsburg, but far more with the twenty-sixth of the XLII. Articles, where the language is almost identical'. The tenth, though bearing a different title, is Art. x. 1 A fuller example of this adoption of much older theology may be remarked in the Homilies for the Passion and the Resur rection, which had appeared al- Art. XI. Art. XII. Art. XIII. Articles drawn up in 1540 (?) based upon Art. XIV. of the Augsburg, and agrees still further with the twenty-fourth of the XLII. Articles. The eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, are long dissertations, in the main agreeing with Arts. XV. XVI. and XVII. of the Augsburg; but if we except a few general sentiments, they are altogether without parallels in the later English Articles. It is worthy of remark, that a number of rough draughts for different parts of the above document exist in our public repositories, and that several are corrected in the handwriting of Cranmer, and one in that of the King. Until the discovery of the copy containing the XIII. Articles in their collected form, it had been usual to assign those draughts to the labours of a committee appointed in April, 1540, to draw up a 'Declaration of the principal Articles of the Christian belief'.' Henry, it is true, had been considerably appeased by the burning of the unhappy' Gospellers,' who persisted in rejecting the 'Six Articles,' and had repeated his earnest desire of accommodation, denouncing the 'rashness and licentiousness of some, and the superstition and stiffness of others 2:' but there is no satisfactory evidence to shew that the commissioners undertook such a compilation as the document above described. Strype, who has collected six of the Articles3, assigning them to the labours of this commission, admits that many of the accompanying papers were drawn up by the divines for the king's use' in the discussions with the German envoys1. And it is very doubtful whether the same statement does not also apply to the definitions of Christian doctrine 1 Archbp. Laurence, Bamp- 2 Strype, Eccl. Mem. I. 356. tione, de eucharistia, de baptismo, de pœnitentia, de sacramentorum usu. Eccl. Mem. 1. App. No. cxII., where they are printed with notes of the king in the margin. They present considerable variations in language, but accord in doctrine (so far as they go) with the XIII. Articles. 4 Mem. of Cranmer, 1. 179. preserved in his own 'Appendix:' for besides their being composed in Latin, which would favour this conjecture, the records of the commission are confined almost entirely to Questions and Answers concerning the sacraments, and the appointment and power of bishops and priests'.' Fox, indeed, intimates that 'a book of Articles' was completed in accordance with the views of Cranmer, but no Formulary answering this description is now extant: and if such a work did exist, it appears to have been speedily suppressed, and to have gained neither royal nor ecclesiastical sanction. A corroboration of this view, which is derived from the absence of the document itself, as well as from the lack of historical testimony, was furnished by the Injunctions of Bonner in 15422, who directed his clergy to procure and study The Institution of a Christian Man,' which he could hardly have done in this public manner, if there had been a more recent work invested with authority; and the same was subsequently implied in the spring of 1543, when an Act for the advancement of true religion' suggested the compilation of the last public Formulary in the reign of Henry VIII.4 1 Ibid. App. Nos. XXVI.*, XXVII., XXVIII., XXVIII.*; cf. Cranmer's Works, ed. Jenkyns, I. XXIII. (note), XXIX. seqq. Still it is a possible supposition, and by no means inconsistent with the view here advocated, that the Articles of 1538 were revived two years later by this commission. The operation of the bloody statute' was suspended in 1540, as we know from a fresh correspondence, which took place in the spring of that year, between Henry VIII. and the German princes. At the urgent request of the English monarch a number of well-digested arguments were also for warded to him from certain of the Lutheran divines; but no further traces have been found of the correspondence after April 12, 1540. Melancthon, Opp. III. 1005-1016. 2 Quoted by Dr Jenkyns, ubi supra. 3 Statutes of the Realm, 34° and 35° Hen. VIII. c. 1. Among other things it abolishes all books comprising any matter of Christian Doctrine, Articles of the Faith, or holy Scripture, contrary to the doctrine set forth sithence A. D. 1540, or to be set forth by the King.' 4 'A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Christian Man.' |