682 ° 2he HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. VIII K. Charles I. " was of mere human inflitution, and had been found a very great grie- ru " vance to the fubjeét, he enclined to the Root and Branch petition." 4,dMr. Mr. White entered more fully into the merits of the caufe, and con- Wh;re's fidered the prefent bithops of the church with regard to their baronies, their temporalities, and their fpiritualities. " The former (lays he) are merely of the king's favour, and began in " this kingdom the 4th of William the conqueror, by virtue whereof " they have had place in the houfe of peers in parliament; but in the 7th " HenryVili. (1846. Kel.) it was refolved by all the judges of England, that the king may hold his parliament by himfelf, his temporal lords " and commons, without any bifhop ; for a bithop has not any place in 6` parliament by reafon of his fpiritualities, but merely by reafon of his " barony, and accordingly acts of parliament have been made without " them, as 2 Richard II, cap. 3. and at other times; nor were " they ever called fpiritual lords in our flatutes, till 16 Richard II. " cap. 1. " By the bithop's fpiritualities I mean thofe fpiritual powers which " raife him above the order of a prefbyter; and here I confider, firft, his " authority over prefbyters by the oath of canonical obedience, by which he may command them tocoiled tenths granted in convocation, accord " ing to 20 Henry VI. cap. 13. Secondly, his -office, which is partly " judicial, and partly minifterial ; by the former, he judges in his courts " of all matters ecclefiaflical and fpiritual within his diocefe, and of the fitnefs of fuck as are prefented to him to be inflituted into benefices;; " by the latter he is to facred places dedicated to divine fervice, 9 Hen- " ry VI. cap. 17. he is to provide for the officiating of cures in the " avoidance of churches, on neglect of the patron's prefenting thereunto,. a` He is to certify loyal [or lawful] matrimony, general baftardy, and ex- " communication. He is to execute judgments given in quare impedii; " upon the writ ad admittendum clericum. He is to attend upon trials " for life, to report the fufficiency or infufficiency of loch as demand " clergy ; and laftly, he is to ordain deacons and presbyters. " Now all thefe being given to thefe bithops jure humano, fays Mr. 0 White, I conceive, may for juft reafons he taken away. He affirms, that according to fcripture, a bithop and prefbyter is one and the fame " perfon ; for (I.) Their duties are mentioned as the fame, the bithop " being to teach and rule his church, I Tim. Ili. 2, 5. and the prefby- ter being to do the very fame, 1 Pet. v. 2, 3. (2) Prefbyters in fcrip- tore are Paid to be bithops of the Holy Ghoft, Alts xx. 28. And St. " Paul charges the presbyters of Ephefus, to take heed to the flock over " which the Holy Ghoft had made them bithops or overfeers; andother bithops the Holy Ghoft never made. (3.) Among the enumeration 66 of
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