been difficult to fupport it against the Owner; for, it is eafier to imagine that it began by Generofity and Whim, than by any reasonable Confideration paid for it. 1 25. Churches are commonly divided into Cathedral, Col- Three Sorts of legiate or Conventual, and Parochial. 1. Cathedral Churches Churches. take their Name from Cathedra, a Chair, the Bishop's Chair or See being there placed; and of which Church the Bishop is Incumbent, and to which the whole Diocefe belongs. Of thefe Churches fomething hath been already faid. 2. Collegiate Churches are those which being built in Towns at some Distance from the Cathedrals, and not large enough to be made Bishopricks, the Bishop fettled a competent Number of Presbyters there; thefe Churches not long after were called Collegiate Churches, and were liberally endowed by the great and pious Men of thofe Times. Like unto thefe, were thofe called Conventual Churches, which, in Time paft, be longed to fome Convent, Abby, or Priory, &c. but of thefe, there being but few left fince the Reformation, and no Parishes properly belonging to them, I fhall add no more about them. 3. But fhall proceed to treat of Parochial Churches, to which Parishes are annexed, or rather of Parishes themselves. And thus much of the Original and Inftitution of Churches and Parishes in general: I fhall only add, that they are computed to be in all England and Wales about 9284 Parishes, whereof about 3845 are impropriated. 26. It will be of Ufe to the Reader to obferve in this Place, Tithes when that of ancient Time, before a new Conftitution made by the made Parochial, Pope, Ann. Dom. 1200. the Patron of a Church might grant his Tithes to another Parish: But in or about that Year, Pope Innocent III. in a Decretal Epiftle directed to the Arch- 2 Inftit. 641. 2 Co. 44. bishop of Canterbury, That juft Tithes may be paid to Parish Churches, writes to this Effect. We have heard that many in your Diocefe do not pay their whole Tithes, or twe Parts of them, to the Churches in the Parishes where they live, or have their Eftates or Poffeffions, and from which they receive the Sacraments of the Church, but diftribute them to others at their Pleafure. Whereas therefore it feems inconvenient and unreafonable, that the Churches which fow Spiritual Things, ought not to reap Temporal Things from their Parishioners: We indulge your Brotherhood by the Authority of these Prefents, that it may be lawful to you, in fuch Cafe, to ordain what shall be Canonical, and to cause by Ecclefiaftical Cenfures, what you shall decree to be firmly obferved; any Contradiction or Appeal of any Perfon, or Cuftom hitherto obferved to the contrary notwithflanding. 27. Lord Coke obferves rightly, that this Decretal bound not the Subjects of this Realm (i. e. formally ;) but the fame being juft and reasonable, they allowed it by a tacit Confent'; B.4 and Notwith and fo it became Part of the Law of the Land. Parish defined. Of Incumbents. Incumbent who. CHA P. II. Of Incumbents, Inftitution, &c. and Lapfe. "F ROM what has been faid, a Parish, collectively taken, may be defigned to be a Body of People living within a certain District, to which belongs a Parish Church, with a Right of Burial, and of having the Holy Sacraments duly adminiftred there, with a Right of Tithes, and other Church Dues, and of making Parish Rates, and choofing their own Parish Officers, &c. which Officers, with the Incumbent, by Order of the Vestry, have the Direction and Management of all the Parish Affairs and Business. 2. Of all which Officers we shall treat in their Order, and fhall begin with those whofe Attendance is more immediately required in or about the Church; among which, the chief is the Incumbent or Minifter, whether he be Rector, Vicar, or Curate. 3. An Incumbent is properly a Clerk who is refident on his Benefice, and is fo called, becaufe he doth or ought to bend all his Study to the Difcharge of the Cure of the Church to which he belongs, and may be confidered under a threefold Denomination. 1. Rector. 2. Vicar. 3. Curate. To which may be added, in fome Parishes especially in and about London, Lecturers and Readers; of all which in their Order. 4. Note; By Statute 14 Car. 2. c. 4. neither Layman nor Deacon is capable of being admitted into any Parfonage, Vicarage, Benefice, or other Ecclefiaftical Promotion or Dignity whatsoever, but must obtain the Orders of a Priest to qualify him for the fame. And this Law holds in the Cafe of Donatives, and his Ordination must be Epifcopal. But the fame Proof fhall be allowed to prove Orders, as 'to prove a Marriage, viz. conftant Reputation, &c. and if he were Laicus, the Admifion, Inftitution, and Induction, were not void, but voidable; and the Plenarty remains until Deprivation. Comb. 202. Dr. Harfcot's Cafe, 5 W. & M. in B. R. 5. The moft ufual Way of taking a Title to a Church is by the Presentation of the Patron, that is, his Nomination of his Clerk to the Bishop or Ordinary for the Time, to be by 'him admitted and inftituted into the Church or Benefice that is void. When the Gift of the Living is in the Ordinary, he is faid to collate, and then there is no Presentation. 6. A Presentation to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Prefentations. 7. To the Moft Reverend Lord and Father in Chrift, the The Forms. Lord A. by the Divine Permiffion Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate and Metropolitan of all England, or in his Abfence to bis Vicar General in Spiritual Things; or to any other Perfon, baving fufficient Authority in this Part, &c. as in the next Section; if it be to the Archbishop of York, the Word all muft be omitted; if to any other Bishop, it runs thus. * Or on this Behalf. Lat. in hac parte. 8. To the Reverend Lord and Father in Chrift, the Lord B. by the Divine Permiffion Bishop of L. or in his Abfence to his Vicar General in Spiritual Things, or to any other Perfon having fufficient Authority in this Part,* Sir H. J. Baronet, the true and undoubted Patron of the Rectory of the Parish Church of D. Health everlasting in the Lord. To the Parish Church of D. aforefaid, of your Diocese, now vacant by the natural Death† † Or Refignaof P. T. the laft Incumbent there, and belonging to my Prefenta- tion, &c. as the tion by full Right, I do prefent to your Fatherhood, my Cafe beloved may be. in Chrift A. B. Profeffor of Divinity, humbly intreating you, Lat. Paternitas. Or Paternity. that you will vouchsafe with Favour to admit the faid A. B. to the faid Church, and cause him to be inftituted and inducted into the Rectory of the faid Church, with all its Rights and Appurtenances, and to do and fulfil on this Behalf, all and fingular the other Things which shall appear to belong to your Epifcopal Office. In Witness whereof, &c. 9. It is faid the Prefentation may be by Parol only, in How to be made. the Cafe of a private Perfon. In the Cafe of a Corporation aggregate, they must prefent under their Common Seal, and Signing and Sealing is commonly used in the other Cafe. And if the Patron be an Infant of never fo tender Age, as a Year or a Month old, the Presentation must be by himself, and not by his Guardian; for, the Guardian cannot account for it: And this was fo held by Lord King, Lord Chancellor, about the 5th of George II. And it feems that a Presentation to Benefices above the Value of ten Pounds in the King's Books is neceffary to be in Writing, fince the Statutes which have impofed Stamp-Duties of forty Shillings each on fuch Presentation. 10. After the Clerk is examined, he is to fubfcribe the 39 Articles in the Prefence of the Ordinary, before he be admitted; and alfo fo much of a Declaration provided by Stat. 14 Car. 2. c. 4. as is not taken away by fubfequent Statutes; and is in thefe Words. I A. B. will conform to the Liturgy of the the Church of England, as it is now by Law eftablished. And 11. Admiffion is nothing more than the Declaration of the Ordinary, that he approves of the Clerk as a fit Perfon to ferve the Cure of the Church, to which he is prefented. Co. Lit. 344. 12. Inftitution is that Act by which the Ordinary commits to the Clerk the Cure of the Church, to which he is presented. And the Ordinary ufually makes Letters Teftimonial of it af terwards, though they are not neceffary. Note; though the Bishop be not refident within his Diocese, he may admit and institute notwithstanding; his Jurifdiction in this Respect accompanying his Perfon. 13. Next follows Induction, which is the putting the Clerk in Poffeffion of the Church, and by this Act he is made a complete Incumbent. In this Cafe, the Ordinary makes a Mandate to him whofe Duty it is to induct, (which is ordinarily the Archdeacon) or he may direct it to fuch other Clergymen as he pleafes. And note, there is a great Variety of peculiar Jurifdictions for this Purpose, of which the Clerk is to inform himself where his Lot falls, or else his Induction may be avoided. The Archdeacon does not ufually induct in Perfon, but fends a Mandate to the Rectors, Vicars, &c. of the Archdeaconry. 14. By Admiffion and Inftitution without Induction, the Church is full against all Perfons but the King, having the Right of prefenting fully in him; and the Clerk is enabled and obliged to attend the Cure of Souls there; and he may enter into the Glebe, and take the Tithes before Induction, against any Stranger, and yet he is not feifed of the Temporalties fo as to be able to grant or fue for them. 15. Within two Months after he fhall be in actual Poffeffion of the Benefice, he fhall in that Church, Chapel, or Place of publick Worship belonging to the Benefice, (without fome lawful impediment, to be allowed and approved by the Ordinary, hinder) and within one Month after fuch Impediment removed, upon fome Lord's Day, openly, publickly, and folemnly read the Morning and Evening Prayers, appointed to be read, by and according to the Book of Common Prayer, at the Times thereby appointed; and after fuch Reading fhall openly and publickly, before the Congregation there affembled, declare his unfeigned Affent and Confent unto all Things therein contained and prescribed, according to this Form of Words and no other: I A. B. do, &c. See Stat. 13 & 14 Car. 2. c. 4. it is printed and bound with all the Folio Commen Prayer Books; and fee, for a Certificate and Declaration which he is alfo to read within three Months, Stat. 14 Car. 3. e. 4. and above. §. 10. 16. He is also, within two Months after Induction, pub. Stat. 13 Eliz. lickly to read the 39 Articles of Religion in the Church C. 21. where he has Cure, in the Time of Common Prayer there, with Declaration of his unfeigned Affent thereto, on Pain of Deprivation ipfo facto. Note; these two Months have but I Lev. 101. 28 Days to the Month, being conftrued according to Common Law. And this Declaration of unfeigned Affent must be ab- 3 Cro. 252. folute; for if he adds any hypothetical, reftrictive or qualifying Words, his Declaration is infufficient in Law. Reading the 39 Articles in the Church Porch is fufficient, Divine Service being read there alfo, the Key of the Church being with held from him. It is the fafest Way to read the Articles, To read the Declaration, &c. after Prayers are begun, and before they be Articles, ended. 17. It is a prudent Caution for the Clerk to have fome intelligent Perfons whom he can rely on, present when he is inducted, and who understand the Greek Language, because of the Words (povina σapxos) in one of the 39 Articles; and if he can conveniently, the fame Perfons present when he performs the other Matters required by Law to be performed in his Parish Church, and that they obferve as he reads the Prayers, &c. and he may give them Copies of the Bishop's Certificate, and of the Declaration which he is to read; and provide for them a Book, containing the 39 Articles; that they may observe, and then that they fet their Hands to the Book of Articles, and that he did read a true Copy.—I shall not enlarge the Caution to Clergymen, because it is held, that if a Perion will aver, that a Clergyman did not read, &c. the Negative in this Cafe must be proved, because the Penalty for the Omiffion is fo great, viz. his Lofs of the Living. And yet it is not amifs that the Clerk have it in his Power to prove the Affirmative. Nimia Cautela non Nocet. 1 Keb. 502. 18. Every Perfon promoted to any Ecclefiaftical Office, Benefice, &c. before he fhall take upon him to receive, ule, exercife, fupply, or occupy any fuch Promotion, &c. fhall make, take, and receive the Oath (appointed by Stat. 1 W. Take the Oaths. M. §. 1. c. 8.) to be taken inflead of the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, before fuch Pertons as have Authority to admit fuch Perfon to fuch Office, &c. or elfe before fuch Person or Perfons as by Commiffion under the Great Seal of England fhall be appointed to adminifter fuch Oaths. And if any fuch Perfon fo promoted, peremptorily and obftinately refutes to take the fame Oaths fo to him to be offered, he fhall prefently be adjudged difabled in the Law to receive, take, ar have the fame Promotion, &c. to all Intents, Conftructions, and Purposes. Note; The new Oaths are appointed to be taken by fuch Perfons, in fuch Manner, at fuch Times, be fore |