zo¢ 2he HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. IV, aaen 3 bithops elect; 1 abbot, 4 priors, r abbefs, i2 deans, 14 archdeacons, Elizabeth, 6o canons or prebendaries, loo beneficed clergy, 15. heads of colleges in 5,, -5 Oxford and Cambridge ; to which may be added, about 20 doctors in fe.. veral faculties. In one of the volumes in the Cotton library, the number is 192; D'Ewe's journal mentions but 177; bifhop Burnet 199; but Strype's An- Cambden and cardinal 4llen reckon as above. Moil of the inferior bene- nals, Vol. I. clergy kept their places, as they had done through all the changes P. 72' 73' of the three laft reigns; and without all quefion, if the queen had died, and the old religion had been reftored, they would have turned again; but the bithops and fome of the dignified clergy, having fworn to thefu. prernacy under king Henry, and renounced it again under queen Mary, they thought it might reflect a difhonour upon their character to change again, and therefore refolved to hold together, and by their weight en- deavour to diftrefs the reformation. Upon fo great an alteration of reli- gion, the number of recufants out of 9400 parochial benefices was incon- fiderable ; and yet it was impoflible to find protettants of a tolerable ca- pacity, to fupply the vacancies, becaufe many of the ftricter fort, who had been exiles for religion, could not come up to the terms of conformity, and the queen's injunctions. No Reform- It -may feem orange, that amidtl all this concern for the new form of atian of doc- worihi , no notice fhould be taken of the doétrinal articles, which king asyet. P $ Edward had publifhed, for avoiding diverfities of opinions, though her majefty might have enjoined them, by virtue of her fupremacy under the great feal, as well as her brother ; but the bifhops durlt not venture them into convocation, becaufe the majority was for the old religion, and the queen was not very fond of her brother's doctrines. To fupply this defect for the prefent,- the bithops drew up the followitlg declaration of their faith, which all Churchmen were obliged to read publickly at their entrance on their cures. 'Tis entitled,
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