university, the title upon which they were ordained, and upon whose letters dimissory, if they came out of another diocese; and to subjoin a particular account of all such as then offered themselves to ordination, and were refused; as also of the reasons for which they were refused. 5 All which I undertake and promise to cause to be entered into a ledger book for that purpose. By this means counterfeit orders may be detected; men who come up for preferment may be the better understood and distinguished; and such who have had the misfortune either ro to lose their orders, or to want them here, upon any emergent occasion, may be in some measure helped. And that the king may be the better enabled to give you his further assistance, in these and other affairs of the church, you are desired and required to comply with 15 his majesty's command to me signified, in giving me an account of what has been done in your diocese, in pursuance of his injunctions, when you come next to parliament; as also of the present state of it, in as particular manner as you well can; that such accounts may be laid 20 before him, in order to the supplying of what is wanting, and rectifying of what is amiss. Not doubting of your lordship's care and zeal in these weighty matters, I recommend you, and all your affairs to the blessing of God Almighty, and remain Your very loving friend and brother, THO. CANTUar. 25 5 Archiepisc. Cant. THO. TENISON 2. CLXVIII. Anno Christi Reg. Angliæ GUILIEL. III. 7. Directions to our archbishops and bishops, for the preserving of unity in the church, and the purity of the Christian faith, concerning the holy Trinity. WILLIAM R. MOST reverend and right reverend fathers in God, we greet you well. Whereas we are given to under stand, that there have of late been some differences among the clergy of this our realm about their ways of expressing themselves in their sermons and writings, con10 cerning the doctrine of the blessed Trinity, which may be ΤΟ of dangerous consequence, if not timely prevented; we therefore out of our princely care and zeal for the pre Directions to our archbishops] In the year 1691, Dr. William Sherlock, soon afterwards appointed to the deanery of St. Paul's, published 15 his "Vindication of the Doctrine of the holy and ever-blessed Trinity," containing a new method of explaining that sacred mystery, and tending in one part of the argument to the establishment of a tritheism. This gave rise to a lengthened controversy, in which Dr. South and himself were the great antagonists, both of them bringing an impe20 tuous temper to the discussion, and calculated to do injury to the cause of religious inquiry by the intemperance with which they conducted it. Other writers took an earnest part in the dispute; but the case which attracted the greatest attention, owing to the solemn condemnation it met with, was a sermon preached in Michaelmas Term 1695, before 25 the university of Oxford; in which the preacher, in conformity with the sentiments of Dr. Sherlock, maintained that "There are three infinite distinct minds and substances in the Trinity," and that " The three persons in the Trinity are three distinct infinite minds or spirits, and three individual substances." These propositions were formally de30 clared by the board of heads of houses to be false, impious, and heretical, servation of the peace and unity of the church, together with the purity of the Christian faith, have thought fit to send you these following directions, which we straitly charge and command you to publish, and to see that they be observed within your several dioceses. I. That no preacher whatsoever, in his sermon or lecture, do presume to deliver any other doctrine concerning the blessed Trinity, than what is contained in the holy scriptures, and is agreeable to the three creeds and the thirty-nine articles of religion. II. That in the explication of this doctrine they carefully avoid all new terms, and confine themselves to such ways of expression, as have been commonly used in the church. 5 10 III. That care be taken in this matter, especially to 15 observe the fifty-third canon of this church, which forbids public opposition between preachers, and that above all things they abstain from bitter invectives and scurrilous language against all persons whatsoever. A and their decree was made so public through the medium of newspapers, 20 and attended with so many reflections on the author of the new heresy, that the controversy soon found fresh materials to feed upon, and a greater degree of acrimony to foment it. Dr. Sherlock published modest examination of the authority and reasons of the late decree," and was followed by other writers on both sides, who engaged so 25 fiercely in the contest, that at the request of the bishops the king interposed, and issued his directions on the subject on the 3rd of February 1696. Bishop Burnet says, that the king's directions "put a stop to those debates, as the death of Mr. Firmin [in 1697, who was a most boun- 30 tiful man, but a great supporter of Socinian doctrines] put a stop to the printing and spreading of Socinian books." Doubtless the vehemence of the contest was much abated; but it appears that Dr. Sherlock still continued to publish tracts in defence of real, as opposed to nominal, Trinitarianism, and in opposition to the false views of the 35 Socinians. Burnet, O. T. vol. iv. p. 390. Baxter's Life, p. 549. Biog. Brit. artt. Sherlock and South. Calamy's Life, vol. i. p. 404. IV. That the foregoing directions be also observed by those, who write any thing concerning the said doctrine. And whereas we also understand, that divers persons, who are not of the clergy, have of late presumed not only 5 to talk and to dispute against the Christian faith concerning the doctrine of the blessed Trinity, but also to write and publish books and pamphlets against the same, and industriously spread them through the kingdom, contrary to our known laws established in this realm; we do there10 fore strictly charge and command you, together with all other means suitable to your holy profession, to make use of your authority according to law, for the repressing and restraining of all such exorbitant practices: and for your assistance we will give charge to our judges, and all other 15 our civil officers, to do their duty herein, in executing the laws against all such persons as shall by these means give occasion of scandal, discord, and disturbance in our church and kingdom. Given at our court at Kensington the third day of February, MDCXCV. in the seventh year 20 of our reign. By his majesty's command. SHREWSBURY CLXIX. Archiepisc. Cant. THO. TENISON 3. Anno Christi Reg. Angliæ A declaration of the sense of the archbishops and bishops, now in and about London, upon the occasion of their attendance in parliament; concerning the irregular and scandalous proceedings of certain clergymen at the execution of sir John Friend and sir William Parkins. WE E the archbishops and bishops, now in and about London, upon occasion of our attendance in parliament, having seen a printed paper entituled "A true copy of the papers delivered by sir John Friend, and sir A declaration of the sense] The discovery of the conspiracy against 5 king William, to which his exiled predecessor is now known to have been privy, and of the dark and deadly designs of which he could not well have been unconscious, gave a fatal blow to the interests of the Jacobites, and roused the feelings of the nation at large in favour of the reigning king. An engagement abjuring the pretensions of James, 10 and pledging the subscribers to revenge the death of king William, in imitation of a similar method adopted in the reign of Elizabeth, was drawn up on the 24th of February, 1696, and was generally signed by the members of both houses of parliament, and throughout the kingdom. This engagement probably suggested the publication of the 15 paper, which the bishops drew up as a declaration of their sentiments, being evidently intended to express their abhorrence of the conspiracy itself, as much as to reprove the irregular and scandalous proceedings they were called upon to notice. "In the beginning of April," says bishop Burnet, Friend and Perkins were executed together. A very 20 unusual instance of the boldness of the Jacobites appeared upon that occasion; these two had not changed their religion, but still called themselves protestants; so three of the non-juring clergymen waited on them to Tyburn. Two of them had been oft with Friend and one of them with Perkins; and all the three at the place of execution joined 25 to give them public absolution, with an imposition of hands, in the view 66 |