AN ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. PART II.-BOOK IX. I. 733. March 27. UPON the death of king James, his only son Charles was, CHARLES according to custom, proclaimed at Theobalds, in London, and elsewhere. The first thing we meet with in reference to the Church, is the king's regulation of the chaplains in ordinary. A. D. 1625. Their number was retrenched, and their time of officiating ascertained. And to make the regulation more perfect, Laud, bishop of St. David's, was commanded to bring in a list of the most eminent divines; and to distinguish their persuasions by the two capitals O. and P., the first standing for Orthodox, and the other for Puritan. And now the parliament and convocation being shortly to meet, Laud was directed by his majesty to consult the learned bishop Andrews upon the juncture: and to take his advice what was fit to be debated upon the subject of religion, especially with reference to the five points settled at Dort. The marriage agreed in the late reign between his present majesty and the French king's sister, was solemnized by proxy at Paris, May the 1st, old style. And on the seventh of this month, king James was interred at Westminster in Henry VII.'s chapel. The king receiving advice of his queen's being The queen embarked at Boulogne, met her at Dover, and conveyed her to arrives at Dover, and London. But here Fuller mistakes in relating a chapel was is conveyed prepared for her in Somerset-house, with a convent of Capu- to London. by the king chin friars for, first, the chapel then ready was not prepared VOL. VIII. B ABBOT, for her, but the lady Infanta; it was built in the king's house Abp. Cant. at St. James's, when the treaty with Spain was likely to suc A mistake in Fuller rectified. Heylin, Hist. P. 199. ment meets Montague summoned to appear before the commons. 734. ceed. Secondly, the articles of marriage make no mention of the Capuchin friars, as Fuller reports. The priests who came over with the queen were, by agreement, to be all Oratorians, this order being likely to prove more inoffensive to the English, as having given them no provocation. And to lay this matter together, though happening at some distance of time, these Oratorians being sent back to France in the year 1626, the Capuchins under father Joseph supplied their place. This however did not happen till after the rupture with France, the expedition at the isle of Rhé, and the loss of Rochelle. But some time after the peace between England and France, the queen prevailed the Capuchins might have leave to come over: upon this some lodgings were fitted for them in Somerset-house, and a chapel built there for her majesty's devotions. On the 18th of June the parliament met at Westminster. The commons' first business was addressing the king with a list of grievances, to the most of which a satisfactory answer was returned. The lower house proceeded to concern themselves with matters of religion, and summoned Montague before them. Being brought to the bar, the speaker told him it was the pleasure of the house the censure of his books should be postponed some time; that in the interim he should be committed to the custody of the serjeant; and afterwards they obliged him to give the security of 2000l. for his appearance. Montague being the king's chaplain, his majesty was displeased with the proceedings of the commons, and looked on it as an unprecedented stretch of jurisdiction and now Laud being apprehensive the Reformation might suffer if controversies in religion were determined in the last instance by the laity, applied to the duke of Buckingham to engage his majesty in favour of Montague. Neither was this divine wanting to do his own part in his defence: to this purpose he wrote to the duke of Buckingham. He entreats this great minister to report to his majesty the hardships put upon him by the commons. That they had no authority to prosecute his person or censure his book: that what he had written was published by the late king's order, and authorized by his present majesty. After this he makes a bold declaration, "that in case he did not give a solid and full answer to every article I. objected from his book, he would willingly be given up to the CHARLES pleasure of his enemies, and not importune his majesty or his grace for any protection." This application was seconded some few days after by a letter of three bishops to the duke of Buckingham; the words are these: "MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE, Cabbala, P. 110. Three bishops write "We are bold to be suitors to you, in the behalf of the Church in his behalf of England, and a poor member of it, Mr. Montague, at this to the duke of Buckingtime not a little distressed. We are not strangers to his per- ham. son, but it is the cause which we are bound to be tender of. "The cause we conceive (under correction of better judgment) concerns the Church of England merely; for that Church, when it was reformed from the superstitious opinions broached or maintained by the Church of Rome, refused the apparent and dangerous errors, and would not be too busy with every particular school point. The cause why she held this moderation was, because she could not be able to preserve any unity amongst Christians, if men were forced to subscribe to curious particulars disputed in schools. "Now, may it please your grace, the opinions which at this time trouble many men in the late book of Mr. Montague, are some of them such as are expressly the resolved doctrine of the Church of England, and those he is bound to maintain : some of them such as are fit only for schools, and to be left at more liberty for learned men to abound in their own sense, so they keep themselves peaceable and distract not the Church. And therefore to make any man subscribe to school opinions may justly seem hard in the Church of Christ, and was one great fault of the council of Trent. And to affright them from those opinions in which they have (as they are bound) subscribed to the Church, as it is worse in itself, so it may be the mother of greater danger 1. "May it please your grace farther to consider, that when the clergy submitted themselves, in the time of Henry VIII., the submission was so, that if any difference, doctrinal or other, fell in the Church, the king and the bishops were to be judges of it in a national synod or convocation, the king first giving leave under his broad seal to handle the points in difference. 1 Vide Blackburne's Confessional. АВВОТ, "But the Church never submitted to any other judge, neiAbp. Cant. ther can she, though she would: and we humbly desire your grace to consider, and then to move his most gracious majesty (if you shall think fit), what dangerous consequences may follow upon it. 66 For, first, if any other judge be allowed in matter of doctrine, we shall depart from the ordinance of Christ, and the continual course and practice of the Church. "2. Secondly, If the Church be once brought down beneath herself, we cannot but fear what may be next struck at. "3. Thirdly, It will some way touch the honour of his majesty's dear father, and our most dread sovereign of glorious and ever blessed memory, king James, who saw and approved all the opinions in this book; and he in his rare wisdom and judgment would never have allowed them if they had crossed with truth and the Church of England. "4. Fourthly, We must be bold to say, that we cannot conceive what use there can be of civil government in the commonwealth, or of preaching and external ministry in the Church, if such fatal opinions as some which are opposite and contrary to these delivered by Mr. Montague, are, and shall be, publicly taught and maintained. "5. Fifthly, We are certain that all or most of the contrary opinions were treated of at Lambeth, and ready to be published; but then, queen Elizabeth, of famous memory, upon notice given, how little they agreed with the practice of piety and obedience to all government, caused them to be suppressed, and so they have continued ever since, till of late some of them have received countenance at the synod of Dort. Now this was a synod of that nation, and can be of no authority in any other national church, till it be received there by public authority. And our hope is, that the Church of England will be well advised, and more than once over, before she admit a foreign synod, especially of such a church as condemneth her discipline and manner of government, to say no more. "And farther, we are bold to commend to your grace's wisdom this one particular. His majesty (as we have been informed) hath already taken this business into his own care, and most worthily referred it in a right course to Church consideration. And we well hoped, that without further trouble I. to the state, or breach of unity in the Church, it might so CHARLES have been well and orderly composed, as we still pray it may. These things considered, we have little to say for Mr. Montague's person, only thus much we know; he is a very good scholar, and a right honest man: a man every way able to do God, his majesty, and the Church of England great service. We fear he may receive great discouragement, and, which is far worse, we have some cause to doubt this may breed a great backwardness in able men to write in the defence of the Church of England against either home or foreign adversaries, if they shall see him sink in fortunes, reputation, or health, upon his book's occasion. "And this we most humbly submit to your grace's judgment, and care of the Church's peace and welfare. So recommending your grace to the protection of Almighty God, "We shall ever rest at your grace's service, 735. Cabbala, p. 105. "2d Aug. 1625." "Jo. ROFFENS. GUIL. MENEVEN. A. How far this letter engaged the duke of Buckingham, or what regard it met with from the commons, is uncertain: however, Mr. Montague had no more trouble given him this Angust 12, session, which was but short: for the plague being in London, 4.D. 1625. The parliathe parliament was adjourned to Oxford, and dissolved in ment disAugust following. The reason which disposed the king to part with them, was, because he found the commons began to reflect upon some of the ministry, and were resolved against granting supplies till their grievances were first redressed. solved. The lord keeper Williams, who was now in his declension at court, endeavoured to recover himself, but without effect. He had disobliged the duke of Buckingham at the parliament at Oxford. For when this nobleman expostulated with him for breach of friendship, he frankly replied, he was engaged with William earl of Pembroke, to endeavour a redress of grievances; and that he was resolved to stand upon his own legs: The broad"If that is your resolution," says the duke, "take care you stand from the firm;" and so they parted. Soon after this clash, the bishop lord-keeper was discharged attending at court; and on the 30th of October Rushworth's following the broad scal was given to sir Thomas Coventry. seal taken Williams. Collect. p. 198. |