British Library, Additional MS 28640
Right Reverend father in god my very good Lo
I have receiued from the kings most excellent Maj
the tenor whereof here ensueth.
Most reverend Father in god, right trusty & right entirely
beloued Councellor we greete you well Forasmuch as the
abuses & extrarangies of Preachers in the Pulpit haue
beene in all times repressed in this Realme by some acte cou
cell or statute with the advise & resolution of grave & learned
Prelates; in so much as the very licensing of Preachers had
beginning by an order of Starrechamber the 8th day of
Iuly in the 19th yeere of k
decessor: & whereas at this present diverse young students
by reading of late writers & vngrounded Divines doe broche
many times vnprofitable vnsound seditious & dangerous doc=
trines to the Scandall of this Church & disquieting of the State
& present goverment We vpon humble representation vnto
vs of these inconveniences by your selfe & sundry other grave
& reverend Prelates of this Church as also of our Princely
care & zeale for the extirpation of schisme & dissention grow=
ing from these seedes & for the setling of a Religious & peace=
able government both of Church & State doe by these our spe=
ciall letters straitelie charge & command you to vse all possi=
ble care & diligence that these limitations & Cautions here=
with sent vnto you Concerning Preachers be duelie & stricte=
ly from henceforth by the severall Bishops in theire severall
Diocesses within your jurisdiction observed & kept / & to that
ende our Princely pleasure is that you send them forthwith se=
verall copies of these Directions to be by them speedily sente
& Communicated to every Parson Vicar Curate Lecturer
& Minister in every Cathedrall or Parish Church with
severall Dioceses / & that you ernestlie require them to employ
theire vttermost endeavors in the performance of this so impor=
tant a busines, letting them knowe that we haue a speciall eye
from you & every of them And these our letters shall be your
sufficient warrant & discharge in this behalfe. Given vnder our
Signet at our Castle of Windsor the 4th of August in the 20th
yeere of our reigne of England &c & of Scotland the 56.
By this you see his Majesties Princely care that men sholde
preache Christ crucified, obedience to the higher powers & ho=
nest &
that every younge man should take vnto himselfe an exorbitant
libertie to teach what he listeth to the offence of his Maj
the disturbance & disquiet of the Church & Commonwealth. I
can giue vnto yo
mance hereof then are prescribed to you in his Majesties letters
& the schedule herewith sent vnto you Whereof I pray you to
be very carefull, since it is the Princelie pleasure of his High=
nes to require an accompt both of you & me for the same. And
so not doubting but by your Register or otherwise you will cause
these instructions to be communicated to your Clergie I leave
you to the Almightie & remaine yo
Croydon Aug. 12. 1622.
Geo. Cant
Directions concerning Preachers.
1
or Deane of a Cathedrall or Collegiate Church| & that
kings dayes & Festiv & set Festivall dayes) doe take occasion by the
expounding of any Text of scripture whatsoever to fall into any
discourse or Common place (otherwise then by opening the coherence
& division of his Text) which shall not be comprehended & warra
ted in essence substance effecte or naturall inference within some of
the Articles of Religion set forth 1562 or in some of the Homelies
set forth by Authoritie in the Church of England, not only for a helpe
of non-preaching Ministers, but withall for a patterne & a Bounda
rie (as it were) for the Preaching Ministers / & for theire further in
pervse diligentlie the said booke of Articles & two bookes of Homelies.
2 ser
Sermon or Collation hereafter vpon Sundaies or Holidaies in the
After-noone in any Cathedrall or Parish Church throughout the kingdome
but vpon some parte of the Catechisme or some texte taken out of the
Creede Tenne Commandements or Lords prayer (Funerall Sermons
only excepted) & that those Preachers be most encouraged & approved
of, who spende the Afternoones exercises in examining of Children in
theire Cathechisme & in expounding of the severall points & heades of
the Cathechisme which is the most ancient & laudable custome of tea=
ching in the Church of England.
3
of a Bishop or Deane at the least doe from henceforth presume to
preache in any populer auditorie the deepe points of Predestinatio
Electio
Irresistibilitie of Gods Grace, but leave those Theames to be handled
by lerned men & that moderately & modestlie by way of vse & ap=
plication rather then by the way of Positiue doctrine as being fit=
ter for the Schooles & Vniu
4
shall presume from henceforth in any Auditory within the kingdome
to declare limitte or bound out by way of positiue doctrine in any lec=
ture or sermon the power, prerogatiue jurisdiction authority or dutie
of Soveraigne Princes, or otherwise meddle with those matters of
State & the reference betweene Princes & the people then as they
are instructed & presidented in the Homelie of obedience & in the
rest of the Homelies & Articles of Religion sette forth (as before is
mentioned) by Authority publike authority, but rather confine themselues
wholly to these two heads of Faith & holy life, which are the subjecte
of the auncient Sermons & Homelies.
5
shall causeleslie & without invitation from the Text fall into bitter in=
vectiues & vndecent rayling speech against the persons of either Papists
therevnto by the texts of Scripture free both the Doctrine & Dis=
cipline of the Church of England from the aspersions of either
Adversarie, especially where the Auditory is suspected to be tain=
ted with the one or the other infection.
6
(whom his Ma
nes) be more wary & choice in Licensing Preachers & revoke
all Grau
passe Licenses in this kind / & that all the Lecturers throughout
the kingdome (a newe bodie severed from the aunciente Clergie
of England, as being neither Parsons Vicars nor Curates) be
licensed hence-forward in the Courte of Faculties, only vpon
recommendation of the partie from the Bishop of the Diocesse
vnder his hand & seale with a Fiat from the Lo
Canterbury & a confirmation vnder the greate seale of Engl
& that such as transgresse any one of these directions be sus=
pended by the Lo
ab officio et beneficio
for
a yeere & a day, vntill his Maj
Convocation shall prescribe some further punishment.
The same Lo rd Archbishop to our Bishop of Norwich about the same.
Salutem in Christo.
you haue receiued from me the Directions of his most excellent
Maj
set downe that no godlie or discreete man can otherwise then ac-
knowledge that they doe much tende to Edification, if he doe
not take them vp vpon reporte, but doe punctuallie consider
the Tenor of the words as they lie, & doe not giue an evill
construction to that which may receiue a fayre interpretation/
Notwithstanding because some fewe Church men & many of the
people haue sinisterly conceiued (as we here finde) that those
doe in some sorte abate the nu
doe make a breache to ignorance & superstition; his Maj
wisedome hath thought fitte that I should adu
weightie reasons which induced his highnes to prescribe that which is done.
You are therefore to knowe that his Maj
& grieved at the hearte to heare every day of so many defections fro
our Religion to Popery & Anabaptisme, or other pointes of Separa=
tion in some parts of this kingdome, & considering with much admira=
tio
king who doth so constantly professe himselfe an open adversarie to the
Superstition of the one & madnes of the other) his Princelie wisedome
could fall vpon no one greater probabilitie, then the lightnes, affected
nes & vnprofitablines of that n kinde of Preaching which hath beene of
late yeeres too much taken vp in Courte Uniu ersitie City & Country.
The vsuall scope of very many Preachers is noted to be a soaring vp
in points of Divinity too deepe for the Capacity of the people, or a
mustering vp of much reading, or a displaying of theire owne wittes, or
an ignorant medling with Civill matters, as well in the private of se=
verall Parishes & Corporations as in the publike of the kingdome, or
a venting of theire owne distastes, or a smoothing vp of those idle fan=
cies which in this blessed time of so long a peace doe boile in the braines
of vnadvised people; or lastlie a rude or vndecent rayling, not against
the Doctrines (which when the text doth occasion the same is not only ap=
proved but much Commended by his Royall Maj
sons of Papists & Puritans.
kind of teaching & never instructed in the Cathechisme & fundamentall
grounds of Religion are for all this aierie nourishment no better then
abras newe table bookes readie to be filled vp either with the
manuels & Catechismes of the Popish priests or the
papers & pa
phlets of Anabaptists Brownists & Puritans.
calling to minde the saying of Tertullian
Id uerum quod primum
& remem=
bring with what Doctrine the Church of England in her first & most hap=
pie reformation did drive out the one & keepe out the other from poyso=
ning & infecting the people of this kingdome, doth finde that the whole scope
of this Doctrine is conteined in the Articles of Religion, the two bookes
of Homelies, the lesser & greater Cathechisme, which his Maj
proper subjects of all sounde & edifying preaching. And so farre
are the said Directions from abating, that his Maj
at our hands that it should increase the number of Sermons by re=
newing in vpon every Sunday in the afternoone in all parish
Churches throughout the Realme, that primitiue & most profitable
exposition of the Cathechisme, wherewith the people yea the very
children may be timely seasoned & instructed in all the heades of
Christian Religion; the which kinde of teaching (to our amendment
be it spoken) is more diligentlie observed in all the Reformed Chur=
ches of Europe, then of late it hath beene here in England. I
finde his Majthe if
we that are his BB doe not see a reformation hereof (which I
trust we shall) to co recommend it to the care of the Civill ma=
gistrate: so farre is his Maj
to solide preaching, or discreete or religious preachers.
all these I am to adde that it is his Maj
the former Directions & these reasons of the same be fairely
written in every Registers office, to the ende that every preacher
of what Denomination soeu soever may (if he be so pleased) take
out copies of eche of them, with his owne hand gratis, paying
nothing in the name of Fee or expedition; but if he doth vse the
paines of the Register or his Clerkes then to pay some moderate
fee to be pronounced in open courte by every of you in your
severall jurisdictions which you houlde vnder me.
that from hence forward a course may be taken that every parso
Vicar Curate or Lecturer doe make exhibite of these his Maj
directions & the reasons for the same, at your severall insuing vi=
sitations, paying to the Register by way of Fee but ijd. only at the
time of the exhibite.
requiring) every of you to haue an especiall & extraordinary care of
the premisses I leave you to the Almightie Sept. 4. 1622
yoGeo. Cant uar