qualified and corrected some crude assertions, approved of the CHARLES I. Anglic. rest. Upon this it was licensed by Montaign, bishop of Lon- Rushworth's don, and published under the title of "Apostolical Obedience." Hist. Coll. As for Abbot, the king was much displeased with his re- Cyprian. fusing to license this sermon. It was for this non-compliance, as the lord Conway confessed to him, that he was suspended from his archiepiscopal function. During this suspension, a Rushworth, commission was granted to the bishops of London, Durham, Rochester, Oxford, and Bath and Wells. runs thus: The instrument p. 447. "Charles, by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, A.D. 1627. France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. To the right reverend father in God, George, bishop of London; and to the right reverend father in God, our trusty and well-beloved counsellor, Richard, lord bishop of Durham; and to the right reverend father in God, John, lord bishop of Rochester; and John, lord bishop of Oxford; to the right reverend father in God our right trusty and wellbeloved counsellor, William, lord bishop of Bath and Wells, greeting: Abbot sus "Whereas George, now archbishop of Canterbury, in the Archbishop right of the archbishopric, hath several and distinct archiepis- pended. copal, episcopal, and other spiritual and ecclesiastical powers and jurisdictions to be exercised in the government and discipline of the Church, within the province of Canterbury, in the administration of justice in causes ecclesiastical within that province, which are partly executed by himself in his own person, and partly and more generally by several persons nominated and authorized by him, being learned in the ecclesiastical laws of this realm, in those several places whereunto they are deputed and appointed by the said archbishop; which several places, as we are informed, they severally hold by several grants for their several lives; as, namely, sir Henry Martin, knight, hath and holdeth by the grants of the said archbishop, the offices and places of the dean of the arches, and judge, or master of the prerogative court, for the natural life of the said sir Henry Martin. "Sir Charles Cæsar, knight, hath and holdeth by grants of ABBOT, the said archbishop, the places or offices of the judge of the Abp. Cant. audience and master of the faculties, for the term of the natural life of the said sir Charles Cæsar. 741. "Sir Thomas Ridley, knight, hath and holdeth by the grant of the said archbishop, the place or office of vicar-general to the said archbishop. And Nathaniel Brent, doctor of the laws, hath and holdeth by grant of the said archbishop, the office or place of commissary to the said archbishop, as of his proper and peculiar diocese of Canterbury. And likewise the several registers of the arches, prerogative, audience, faculties, and of the vicar-general and commissary of Canterbury, hold their places by grants from the said archbishop respectively. "Whereas the said archbishop in some or all of these several places and jurisdictions doth, or may sometimes assume unto his personal and proper judicature, order, or direction, some particular causes, actions, or cases, at his pleasure. And forasmuch as the said archbishop cannot at this present, in his own person, attend the services which are otherwise proper for his cognizance and jurisdiction, and which, as archbishop of Canterbury, he might and ought, in his own person, to have performed and executed in causes and matters ecclesiastical, in the proper function of archbishop of the province; we, therefore, of our regal power, and of our princely care and providence that nothing shall be defective in the orders, discipline, government, or right of the Church, have thought fit, by the service of some other learned and reverend bishops to be named by us, to supply those things which the said archbishop ought or might, in the cases aforesaid, to have done, but for this present cannot perform the same. "Know ye, therefore, that we, reposing special trust and confidence in your approved wisdoms, learning, and integrity, have nominated, authorized, and appointed, and do by these presents nominate and appoint you the said George, lord bishop of London; Richard, lord bishop of Durham; John, lord bishop of Rochester; John, lord bishop of Oxford; and William, lord bishop of Bath and Wells; or any four, three, or two of you, to do, execute, and perform all and every those acts, matters, and things any way touching or concerning the power, jurisdiction, or authority of the archbishop of Canterbury, in causes or matters ecclesiastical, as amply, fully, and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as the said archbishop CHARLES himself might have done. "And we do hereby command you, and every of you, to attend, perform, and execute this our royal pleasure, in and touching the premises, until we shall declare our will and pleasure to the contrary. "And we further hereby will and command the said archbishop of Canterbury, quietly, and without interruption, to permit and suffer you, the said George, bishop of London; Richard, bishop of Durham; John, bishop of Rochester; John, bishop of Oxford; and William, bishop of Bath and Wells; any four, or three, or two of you, to execute and perform this our commission, according to our royal pleasure thereby signified. "And we do further will and command all and every other person and persons whom it may any way concern in their several places or offices, to be attendant, observant, and obedient to you and every of you, in the execution and performance of this our royal will and command, as they and every of them will answer the contrary at their utmost perils. "Nevertheless, we do hereby declare our royal pleasure to be, that they the said sir Henry Martin, sir Charles Cæsar, sir Thomas Ridley, and Nathaniel Brent, in their several offices and places aforesaid, and all other registers, officers, and ministers in the several courts, offices, and jurisdictions appertaining to the said archbishop, shall quietly, and without interruption, hold, use, occupy, and enjoy their said offices and places, which they now hold by the grant of the said archbishop, or of any other former archbishop of Canterbury, in such manner and form, and with those benefits, privileges, powers, and authorities, which they now have, hold, and enjoy therein, or thereout severally and respectively, they and every of them in their several places being attendant and obedient unto you the said George, bishop of London; Richard, bishop of Durham; John, bishop of Rochester; John, bishop of Oxford; and William, bishop of Bath and Wells; or to any four, three, or two of you, in all things, according to the tenor of this our commission, as they should or ought to have been to the said archbishop himself, if this commission had not been had or made. "In witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be ABBOT, made patent. Witness ourself at Westminster, the ninth day Abp. Cant. of October, in the third year of our reign. "Per ipsum regem. "EDMONDS." Remarks upon the the arch Held in the year 341. It must be confessed, this revocation of the powers of the sequestering hierarchy, purely by the force of the regale, looks like a modern bishop's way of proceeding. The discipline of the ancient Church was jurisdiction. conveyed through another channel. The council of Antioch mentions a synod as a proper judicature for the trial of a bishop; neither does it so much as suppose there could be any other. And by the council of Carthage it is decreed, that in case a bishop is reported a criminal, and a synod cannot conveniently be called, he shall be tried by twelve bishops. By the way, both these councils were held under Christian princes; and yet the fathers ordered the process against a bishop should be managed by those of his own order. It was not then the custom for princes to lay any penalties upon bishops, unless for crimes against the State. But as to failures in their function, ecclesiastics were only to take notice of such matters. Held A. D. 459. Can. 12. Eccles. lib.4. c. 34. Thus, for instance, St. Chrysostom was deposed by a synodTheod. Hist. ical sentence. Arcadius, the emperor, though willing to be rid of him, did not think fit to arrest his jurisdiction, or silence his preaching, by exerting the regale; such proceedings were altogether unprecedented in that age. The Church at that time of day would have been extremely surprised to see a prince supersede a spiritual commission underived from him. But supposing the spiritual authority lay never so much at the pleasure of the crown, was it not somewhat of a hardship the archbishop should be put under an incapacity, and barred the execution of his office, without assigning the reason for this correction, without bringing him to a hearing, and allowing the common liberty of a defence? Ch. Hist. book 11. P. 127. Fuller relates this suspension was drawn on the archbishop for the casual homicide committed in the late reign. But this is a mistake; for, First. He had a royal dispensation, already mentioned, to shelter him against the canons. This must of course make him "rectus in curia," so far, at least, as to cover him from prosecution. Secondly. This commission, granted by king Charles, is I. 742. wholly silent as to Abbot's former misfortune, and only takes CHARLES notice that "the archbishop cannot at this present in his own person attend the services which are otherwise proper for his cognizance and jurisdiction," &c. And why could he not attend them? Because his majesty was displeased, and would not permit him. But, after all, the good king was misdirected into these rigours, and believed himself in the right. The archbishop complained the duke of Buckingham was his enemy. This favourite was disappointed in the homage he expected: Abbot, it seems, did not think it proper to make his court to the duke, to treat him with submission, and compliment his standing Rushworth's to the other's courtesy. Besides, the king was embarrassed with the war, uneasy at the conduct of the parliament; and as measures were taken, had no other way to retrieve his affairs but by borrowing money. Now Sibthorp had laid out himself with a great deal of zeal to set the loan forward; and Abbot's refusing to recommend this discourse to the public, touched the king in a tender part, and made him more liable to unfavourable impressions. Collect. 70l. 1. The learned Heylin believes the king was swayed by another motive. He thought Abbot was somewhat biassed towards the Nonconformists, and too remiss in his government: that for this reason he seized his jurisdiction, and put it in hands more disposed to act for the advantage of the established Cyprian. Church. P. 170. home. Anglic. This year a misunderstanding between the courts of Eng- The French land and France began, upon some disputes touching the part of the queen's fagovernment of the queen's family. By the articles of marriage it mily sent was agreed her majesty should have a certain number of priests to officiate in her chapel, together with a bishop, who was to be allowed the full exercise of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Some of these ecclesiastics enjoined her majesty a very odd penance: it was "to go to Tyburn to perform her devotions, where some Roman Catholic priests had been lately executed." The king, resenting this discipline, and having been ill used Annals of by the queen's family in other respects, complained of their King misbehaviour to the French king. In short, the French part of the queen's court were paid their salaries and sent home. And though the king ordered his ambassador, the lord Carleton, to Rushworth's Charles 1. |