Chap. I. The HISTORY of the PURITANS. iy " dons or maffes faid in certain places, or before certain images, could de. King " liver fouls out of P ur g atorY, Henry VIII . x536. Thefe articles were fignd by the archbifhop of Canterbury, 17 bífhops, wv 40 abbots and priors, and 5o archdeacons and proctors of the lower houfe of convocation : They were publifhed by the king's authority, with a pre- face in his name requiring all his fubjeéts to accept them, whichwould en- courage him to take farther pains for the honour of God and the welfare of his people. One fees here the dawn of the reformation; the fcriptures and the ancient creeds are made the eeandards of faith, without the tradition of the church or decrees of the pope ; the do&rine of juflification by faith is well fated; four of the feven facraments are pafl'ed over, and purgatory is left doubtful. But tranfubftantiation, auricular confeflion, the worfhip- ping of images and faints, fill remained. The court of Rome were not idle fpeétators of thefe proceedings; they threaten'd the king, and fpirited up the clergy to rebellion ; and when all hopes ofaccommodation were at an end, the pope pronounced fentence of Pope exam' excommunication againft the whole kingdom, depriving his majefy of his nErgitates the' crown and dignity, forbidding his fubjei s to obey him, and foreign princes H:,?. Refer. to correfpond with him; all his leagues with themwere diffolved, and his Vol. I. own clergy were commanded to depart the kingdom, and his nobility top 5' rife in arms againft him. The king laying hold of this opportunity called Occaf :on, In- a parliament, and obtained an ad, requiring hiss fubjeéts under the pains óffurrections treafon, to fwear that the king wasfupreme head of the church of England; and to frike terror into the popifh party, three priors and a monk of the Carthufan order, and three monks of the Charter- houfe, were executed as traitors, for refuting the oath, andforfaying, that the king was not fupreme head under Chri/l of the church of England : but the two greatef facrifices were John Fifher bifhop of Rothefter, and Sir Thomas More, late lord chan- cellor of England, men of difinguifhed abilities, who were both beheaded laf year within a fortnight of each other. This quieted the people for a time; but loon after there was an infurre&ion in Lincolnfhire of 20000 men, beaded by a churchman and directed by a monk ; who upon a pro- clamation of pardon difperfed themfelves: The fame year there was ano- ther more formidable in the north, but after Tome time the rebels were defeated by the duke of Norfolk, and the heads of them executed, among whom were divers abbots and priefs. Thefe commotions incenfed the king againft the religious houfes, as nurferies of fedition, and made him . refolve to fupprefs them all. In the mean time his majefy went on boldly againft the church of Rome, and publifhed certain injun&ions by his own authority, to regulate the behaviour of the clergy. This was the fiat act of pure fupremacyl VoL.I. D done
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=