IX there, also be to us uncertain by scripture; therefore this with CHAP all other things we remit to Almighty God, unto whose mercy it is meet and convenient for us to commend them, trusting A.D. 1536 that God accepteth our prayers for them, referring the rest wholly to God, to whom is known their estate and condition; wherefore it is much necessary that such abuses Roman be clearly put away, which under the name of purgatory hath idea of been advanced, as to make men believe that through the repudiated bishop of Rome's pardon souls might clearly be delivered out of purgatory, and all the pains of it, or that masses said at scala cæli, or otherwhere, in any place, or before any image, might likewise deliver them from all their pain, and send them straight to heaven; and other like abuses."4 These five were substantially embodied in the "Institution of a Christian Man," as were the five on the principal articles of faith which formed the first part of them. That on images is worked up into the exposition of the Second Commandment, that on rites and ceremonies is entirely reproduced in the exposition of the Fourth Commandment, and that on purgatory is printed by itself at the end of the volume. purgatory Articles lican theo It need hardly be pointed out that, whatever These five mediæval opinions and practices may have been, consistent there is not one word of these articles which is incon- with Angsistent with the principles of the Church of England logy as interpreted in modern times by her most learned divines. It has been considered expedient to disuse such ceremonies as "creeping" to the Cross, and the use of blessed ashes and palms; but their use or disuse is purely a question of expediency and not of principle. 4 "Some men make their cracks," preached Latimer before the Convocation on June 9th in this year, "that they, maugre of all men's heads, have found purgatory. I cannot tell what is found. This, to pray for dead folks? This is CHAP IX At the end of the eighth of these articles, it will be noticed that a hint is given respecting some proA.D. 1536 posed mitigation or moderation of the observance of Grievance holy-days. There was a standing grievance on this of forbid. subject among the labouring classes, there being (on work on the average) one holy-day, and perhaps one even, to holy-days be observed in every week, and an Act of Parliament ding to [6 Hen. VI. cap. 3] was passed in 1427 forbidding them from taking wages for festivals or half-day's wages for their evens. This grievance was forcibly stated by Latimer in the sermon which he preached at the opening of Convocation :— "Do ye see nothing in our holidays? Of the which very few were made at the first, and they to set forth goodness, virtue, and honesty. But sithens, in some places there is neither mean nor measure in making new holidays, as who should say, this one thing is serving of God, to make this law, that no man may work. But what doth the people on these holidays? Do they give themselves to godliness, or else ungodliness? See ye nothing, brethren? If you see not, yet God seeth. God seeth all the whole holidays to be spent miserably in drunkenness, in glossing, in strife, in envy, in dancing, dicing, idleness, and gluttony. He seeth all this, and threateneth punishment for it. He seeth it, which neither is deceived in seeing, nor deceiveth when He threateneth. "Thus men serve the devil, for God is not thus served; albeit ye say, ye serve God. No, the devil hath more service done unto him on one holiday than on many working days. Let all these abuses be counted as nothing, who is he that is not sorry to see in so many holidays rich and wealthy persons to flow in delicates, and men that live by their travail, poor men, to lack necessary meat and drink for their wives and their children, and that they cannot labour upon the holidays, except they will be cited, and brought before our officials? Were it not the office of good prelates to consult upon these IX matters, and to seek some remedy for them? Ye shall see, CHAP my brethren, ye shall see once what will come of this our winking."5 A.D. 1536 Church of The fact is that a definite rule on the subject The anexisted, in the shape of a canon passed in the year of the 1362, during the time that Meopham was Arch- England bishop of Canterbury; but that in later times (as the Convocation before us states in a document to be noticed immediately) "the number of holy-days" had "excessively grown, and yet daily more and more, by men's devotion, yea rather superstition, was like further to increase." Private and local observances of such days had been added to those enjoined by the Church, and these were the real cause of the hardships complained of. The rule of the Church of England was to be found (as already stated) in the canon of 1362, which named forty-four days that were to be kept holy by all persons, the observance including abstinence from labour. To these forty-four must be added the evens of some of the festivals, and St. George's day, the observance of which was enjoined by a subsequent canon of A.D. 1415, thus making an average of, at the utmost, one holy-day and one even in each week. canon with modifications On July 19, 1536, the Convocation modified this This old rule by a new canon, which was afterwards assented re-enacted to and published by the crown. It seems to have been practically a re-enactment of the canon of 1362 in a different form, for the purpose of cutting off all 5 Sermons, i. 50, ed. 1824. 6 The forty-four days so appointed to be kept holy included the thirty-two days which are so distinguished in the Calendar of IX CHAP the supplementary holy-days which had crept into observance as above stated. It provided that :A.D. 1536 1. The festival of the dedication of each parish church should be kept on a Sunday instead of a week day-the first Sunday in October. The Calenlar not altered 2. That the festival of the saint in whose name any parish church was dedicated, should not be observed as a day of compulsory cessation from labour, unless otherwise a holy-day. 3. That no festivals in harvest time (that is, between July 1st and September 29th) should be observed with compulsory cessation of labour, except feasts of the Apostles, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the feast of St. George.' This canon was published under the title of "The Abrogation of Certain Holy-days," which was corrupted into "The Abrogation of the Holy-days," or "of Holy-days," without any other word preceding: and thus it has been commonly supposed to have abolished most of the Holy-days in the Calendar! But it did not even touch the Calendar, merely giving permission to the laity to work at their ordinary calling on certain of the days in the Calendar on which they had been previously forbidden to do so; and leaving untouched also the canons and Act of Parliament which forbad work on the festivals and evens not excepted by this new law. Whether such a measure of relief was enough to satisfy those who thought themselves aggrieved may be doubted; but an Act of Parliament alone could repeal the Act [6 Hen. VI. cap. 3] previously referred to, and probably Convocation did all that legally lay within the power of the clergy to do. In the reign 7 Wilkins' Concil., iii. 823. IX of Edward VI. an Act of Parliament was passed on CHAP the subject [5 & 6 Edw. VI. cap. 13], which is still in force. By this Statute twenty-six holy-days and A.D. 1536 seventeen evens were directed to be observed as days "on which Christians should cease from all other kinds of labours, and should apply themselves only and wholly unto holy works properly pertaining unto true religion; but all persons were to be permitted to labour on these days in harvest, or at other times if necessity should require. 9 Crown The canon of 1536 was sent into every diocese with The canon a royal letter, and was also enforced by the third of by the the royal Injunctions issued in the same year,1 its publication or promulgation by the crown being in accordance with the agreement lately made between the Convocations and the King; but it is quite a mistake to suppose that this canon came out originally in the form of a royal injunction.2 its obser vance Shortly after the Convocation had been prorogued, Royal injunctions two sets of Injunctions had been issued by the King enforcing and by Cromwell in his capacity as Vicegerent, in which the Ten Articles and the preceding canon are enforced upon the clergy. They also contain the following direction to the clergy in respect to some of the customs which were now under consideration : That they should not lay out their rhetoric in flourishing upon images, relics, or miracles upon any motive of superstition or covetousness: that they ought not to persuade their people to pilgrimages, contrary to the intendment of the late articles, but rather exhort them to serve God and make provision for their families. And if they have anything to spare, 8 It was repealed by 1 Mary, Sess. ii. cap. 2, but carefully revived by 1 James I. i. cap. 25. 9 Wilkins' Concil., iii. 824. 1 Ibid., 813. It was also printed in Bishop Hilsey's Primer of 1539. 2 As Collier says, for instance, iv. 363, ed. 1852. |