correct, restrain, and amend, all such errors, heresies, abuses, contempts, and enormities, whatsoever they be, which by any manner of spiritual authority or jurisdiction, ought or may be lawfully reformed, repressed, ordered, redressed, corrected, restrained, or amended, most to the pleasure of Almighty God, and increase of virtue in Christ's religion, and for the conversation of peace, unity, and tranquillity, of this realm; any usage, custom, foreign law, foreign authority, prescription, or any thing or things to the contrary notwithstanding."

Here was the rise of the Reformation. The whole power of reforming heresies and errors in doctrine and worship was transferred from the pope to the king, without any regard to the rights of synods or councils of the clergy; and without a reserve of liberty to such consciences as could not comply with the public standard. This was undoubtedly a change for the better, but is far from being consonant to Scripture or reason.

The parliament had already forbid all appeals to the court of Rome, in causes testamentary, matrimonial, and in all disputes concerning divorces, tithes, oblations, &c. under penalty of a præmunire,* and were now voting away annates and first-fruits; and providing, "that in case the pope denied his bulls for electing or consecrating bishops, it should be done without them by the archbishop of the province; that an archbishop might be consecrated by any two bishops whom the king should appoint: and being so consecrated should enjoy all the rights of his see, any law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." All which acts passed both houses without any considerable opposition. Thus, while the pope stood trifling about a contested marriage, the king and parliament took away all his profits, revenues, and authority, in the church of England.

His majesty having now waited six years for a determination of his marriage from the court of Rome, and being now himself head of the church of England, commanded Dr. Cranmer, lately consecrated archbishop of Canterbury, to call a court of canonists and divines, and proceed to judg ment. Accordingly his grace summoned queen Katharine to appear at Dunstable, near the place where she resided, in person or by proxy on the 20th of May, 1533, but her

* 24 Hen. VIII. cap. 12.

majesty refused to appear, adhering to her appeal to the court of Rome; upon which the archbishop, by advice of the court, declared her contumax, and on the 23d of the same month pronounced the king's marriage with her null and void, as being contrary to the laws of God. Soon after which his majesty married Anne Bullen, and procured an act of parliament for settling the crown upon the heirs of her body, which all his subjects were obliged

to swear to.

There was a remarkable appearance of Divine Providence in this affair; for the French king had prevailed with the king of England, to refer his cause once more to the court of Rome, upon assurances given, that the pope should decide it in his majesty's favour within a limited time; the pope consented, and fixed a time for the return of the king's answer, but the courier not arriving upon the very day, the Imperialists, who dreaded an alliance between the pope and the king of England, persuaded his holiness to give sentence against him, and accordingly, March 23d, the marriage was declared good, and the king was required to take his wife again, otherwise the censures of the church were to be denounced against him.* Two days after this the courier arrived from England with the king's submission under his hand in due form, but it was then too late, it being hardly decent for the infallible chair to revoke its decrees in so short a time. Such was the crisis of the Reformation!

The pope having decided against the king, his majesty determined to take away all his profits and authority over the church of England at once; accordingly a bill was brought into the parliament then sitting, and passed without any protestation, by which it is enacted, "that all payments made to the apostolic chamber, and all provisions, bulls, or dispensations, should from thenceforth cease; and that all dispensations or licences, for things not contrary to the law of God, should be granted within the kingdom, under the seals of the two archbishops in their several provinces. The pope was to have no farther concern in the nomination or confirmation of bishops, which were appointed to be chosen by conge d'elire from the crown, as at present. Peter-pence, and all procurations from Rome, Burnet's Hist. Ref. vol. 1. p. 135.

were abolished. Moreover, all religious houses, exempt or not exempt, were to be subject to the archbishops' visitation, except some monasteries and abbeys which were to be subject to the king."* Most of the bishops voted against this bill, but all but one set their hands to it after it was passed, according to the custom of those times. Thus the church of England became independent of the pope, and all foreign jurisdiction.

Complaints being daily made of the severe proceedings of the ecclesiastical courts against heretics, the parliament took this matter into consideration, and repealed the act of the second of Henry IV. above mentioned, but left the statutes of Richard II. and Henry V. in full force, with this qualifi cation, that heretics should be proceeded against upon presentments by two witnesses at least; that they should be brought to answer in open court; and if they were found guilty, and would not abjure, or were relapsed, they should be adjudged to death, the king's writ de hæretico comburendo being first obtained. By this act the ecclesiastical courts were limited; heretics being now to be tried according to the forms of law, as in other cases.

Towards the latter end of this session the clergy, assembled in convocation, sent up their submission to the king to be passed in parliament, which was done accordingly: the contents were, "that the clergy acknowledged all convocations ought to be assembled by the king's writ; and promised, in verbo sacerdotii, that they would never make nor execute any new canons or constitutions without the royal assent; and since many canons had been received that were found prejudicial to the king's prerogative, contrary to the laws of the land, and heavy to the subjects, that therefore there should be a committee of thirty-two persons, sixteen of the two houses of parliament, and as many of the clergy, to be named by the king, who should have full power to revise the old canons, and to abrogate, confirm, or alter, them as they found expedient, the king's assent being obtained."

This submission was confirmed by parliament; and by the same act all appeals to Rome were again condemned. If any parties found themselves aggrieved in the archbishops' courts, an appeal might be made to the king in the court of Chancery, * 25 Henry VIII, cap. 20, 21. +25 Henry VIII. cap. 14.

and the lord-chancellor was to grant a commission under the great seal for a hearing before delegates, whose determination should be final. All exempted abbots were also to appeal to the king; and the act concluded with a proviso, "that till such correction of the canons was made, all those which were then received should remain in force, except such as were contrary to the laws and customs of the realm, or were to the damage or hurt of the king's prerogative.” Upon the proviso of this act all the proceedings of the commons and other spiritual courts are founded; for the canons not being corrected to this day, the old ones are in force with the exceptions above mentioned ; and this proviso is probably the reason why the canons were not corrected in the following reigns, for now it lies in the breast of the judges to declare what canons are contrary to the laws or rights of the crown, which is more for the king's prerogative, than to make a collection of ecclesiastical laws which should be fixed and immoveable.

Before the parliament broke up they gave the annates or first-fruits of benefices, and the yearly revenue of the tenth part of all livings, which had been taken from the pope last year, to the king. This displeased the clergy, who were in hopes of being freed from that burden; but they were mistaken, for by the thirty-second of Henry VIII. cap. 45. a court of record is ordered to be erected, called the court of the first-fruits and tenths, for the levying and government of the said first-fruits for ever.

The session being ended, commissioners were sent over the kingdom, to administer the oath of succession to all his majesty's subjects, according to a late act of parliament, by which it appears that, besides renewing their allegiance to the king, and acknowledging him to be the head of the church, they declared upon oath the lawfulness of his marriage with queen Anne, and that they would be true to the issue begotten in it. That the bishop of Rome had no more power than any other bishop in his own diocess; that they would submit to all the king's laws, notwithstanding the pope's censures; that in their prayers they would pray first for the king as supreme head of the church of England; then for the queen [Anne], then for the archbishop of Canterbury, and the other ranks of the clergy.' Only Fisher bishop of Rochester, and sir Thomas More lord-chancellor,

refused to take the oath, for which they afterward lost their lives.

The separation of the church of England from Rome contributed something towards the reformation of its doctrines, though the body of the inferior clergy were as stiff for their old opinions as ever, being countenanced and supported by the duke of Norfolk, by the lord-chancellor More, by Gardiner bishop of Winchester, and Fisher of Rochester; but some of the nobility and bishops were for a farther reformation: among these were the new queen, lord Cromwell afterward earl of Essex, Dr. Cranmer archbishop of Canterbury, Shaxton bishop of Salisbury, and Latimer of Worcester. As these were more or less in favour with the king, the reformation of religion went forwards or backwards throughout the whole course of his reign.

The progress of the Reformation in Germany, by the preaching of Luther, Melancthon, and others, with the num ber of books that were published in those parts, some of which were translated into English, rivived learning, and raised people's curiosities to look into the state of religion here at home. One of the first books that was published, was the translation of the New Testament by Tyndal, printed at Antwerp 1527. The next was the Supplication of the Beggars, by Simon Frith of Gray's-Inn, 1529. It was levelled against the begging friars, and complains that the common poor were ready to starve, because the alms of the people were intercepted by great companies of lusty idle friars who were able to work, and were a burden to the commonwealth. More and Fisher answered the book, endeavouring to move the people's passions, by representing the supplications of the souls in purgatory which were relieved by the masses of these friars. But the strength of their arguments lay in the sword of the magistrate, which was now in their hands; for while these gentlemen were in power the clergy made sad havoc among those people who were seeking after Christian knowledge: some were cited into the bishops' courts for teaching their children the Lord's prayer in English; some for reading forbidden books; some for speaking against the vices of the clergy; some for not coming to confession and the sacrament; and some for not observing the church-fasts; most of whom, through fear of death, did penance and were dismissed; but several of the

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