103 with the thanksgiv success at Malta. CHAP. XI. Thanksgiving in St. Paul's for the deliverance of Malta. The Bishop deals again with his Clergy for conformity. The Book of Advertisements. Bullinger writes to him concerning this matter: and he to Bullinger: and to Zanchy. Censures one of the Dutch Church. Beza sends him his Annotations. Adviseth THE Turks, with a great army, had long besieged Malta Secretary by sea and land; a place of great import, lying near Sicily about a and Italy, and was, as it were, the key of that part of ing for the Christendom. Therefore a form of prayer was used every Wednesday and Friday, in the city and diocese of London, for the deliverance of that place and those Christians. Now about the month of October joyful news was brought, that the Turks, with all their forces, were beaten off, and gone with great loss, shame, and confusion. This occasioned great joy and triumph in Christendom; and England joined with the rest in its resentments of this good news. The Archbishop had given the Secretary certain advertisements about it; as that it were convenient to turn their prayers now into praises, and that some public thanksgivings should be made to God in St. Paul's church; and that the Bishop of London should, against the next Lord's day, appoint an office to be used for that occasion, And of the same judg ment was the Secretary. And so he wrote to our Bishop. But the grave man was not for doing it in such haste, for fear of some after-clap of news, which might clash with and confute the first tidings. He wrote therefore to the Secretary, "that it were good to defer it eight days longer. "And that for two causes. One was, that more certainty "of the matter might be known; which seemed, by the "advertisement he received, uncertain: urging prudently, "that it was less inconvenience to defer a week, than to be "hasty to make solemn gratulations, if the matter should prove untrue, as it had been once in this very case of XI. "Malta; and as in the birth of Queen Mary's first son CHAP. "it heretofore appeared. The other cause was, for that. "nothing in so short a time could be devised and printed Anno 1565. "for that purpose." And this he sent by Mr. Watts, his chaplain; signifying withal, that if the Secretary devised otherwise with him, he would do what he could. But he ended, that he distrusted the news. This letter of the Bishop to the Secretary was dated October 12. But when afterward the truth of this victory was confirmed, then an Office was framed for this occasion: which as it began at Paul's, so it was used for six weeks, Wednesdays and Fridays, not only in London, but throughout the whole province of Canterbury, by the Archbishop's di rection. upon him. Notwithstanding the Clergy of London had been the last 104 year so spurred up to conformity, many of them were still The Archbishop calls backward towards it. Insomuch that the Archbishop warned the Bishop about this matter; and giving him notice of a session of the ecclesiastical commission at Lambeth, advised him to be there; and the rather, in order to the dealing with some Ministers of his own diocese. And what our Bishop's thoughts now were, and his disposition to prosecute this business, I will give in his own words to the Metropolitan. the Archbi ducing conformity MSS. C. C. "Sal. in Christo. Whereas your Grace putteth me in Writes to "remembrance for the state of my cure, I heartily thank shop con"your Grace. In very deed my purpose was, after this cerning re"week ended, (wherein I take some physic for my health,) things to "to have prayed your Grace's advice and aid for the same. in his dio"For I must confess, that I can hardly reduce things to cese. conformity, if I deal in it alone. On Friday afternoon, by c. Vol. E"God's grace, I will attend: wishing that my Lords of pistolar, "Winton and Ely may be there. I suppose it best to "have no appearance that day, but only to confer de modo "rei peragenda. I wish your Chancellor present to direct "us in matters of law. Wood the Scotchman is a factious "fellow, as I shall declare to your Grace at my next coming. BOOK "God keep your Grace. 13. Jan. 1566. [anno ineunte, as "it seems.] Your Grace's in Christ, I. Anno 1565. The Bishop "Edmund London." The Bishop soon after sitting in commission at Lambeth sits in com- with the Archbishop, and the rest, all the London Ministers, Lambeth. who had been cited before, made now their personal appear mission at The Arch bishop sends ance. And after some serious discourse with them, and exhortation, they were severally asked, whether they would conform themselves to the ecclesiastical orders prescribed. Sixty-one promised, thirty-seven denied. Who were forthwith sequestered, and suspended ab officio, and within three months after to be actually deprived, unless they would comply. Within that time many did: but some were deprived. The Archbishop now backed this attempt for conformity, the Adver- by a book called the Book of Advertisements, which contisements to sisted of divers articles, which the Clergy should be bound to the Bishop. observe, by virtue of a letter from the Queen. These articles were, for their doctrine and preaching, for administration of prayers and sacraments, for certain orders in ecclesiastical policy, for outward apparel of persons ecclesiastical; with a protestation to be made, promised, and prescribed by the said persons, as not to preach without licence, to use sobriety in apparel according to order; and to observe and keep order and uniformity in all external policy, rites, and ceremonies of the Church, as by laws and good usages were already provided and established. This Book of Advertisements the Archbishop sent to Bishop Grindal, that copies thereof might be dispersed and conveyed to all Bishops, to see them duly executed. And withal he required the said 105 Bishop to be diligent in punishing all recusants in his diocese by censures ecclesiastical, since they [the Bishops] had power and authority by act of Parliament to use them. And this the Archbishop required and charged him to do, as he would answer to God. And excites him. The Archbishop thought fit now and then thus to call upon our Bishop, who was not forward to use extremities: XI. and because of this the Puritan party confided much in CHAP. him; and gave out, that my Lord of London was their own, and all that he did was upon a force, and unwillingly, Anno 1566. as they flattered themselves. takes care churches. During the aforementioned suspension, divers churches The Bishop were unserved; and great clamours were made. To sup- of the ply which defect, the Bishop sent three or four of his chap- vacant lains to preach in those churches: and particularly he took order for the administration of the Sacrament on PalmSunday near at hand; though by reason partly of the rudeness of the people, and partly the neglect of the churchwardens, who had provided neither surplice nor bread, there were forced to be failures herein: but for the more careful supply of these vacancies at this time, both the Bishop and the Archbishop did consult: and where any churches after all were unsupplied, they allowed the parishioners thereof to resort elsewhere. They appointed one Minister to serve two churches, in the morning performing the Divine worship in one church, and in the afternoon in the other. In fine, by this care the cures were all in effect supplied; only there was a want of preachers; which the Bishop's own chaplains were not sufficient for. But whether it were our Bishop's indisposition in bodily health, or want of ability to go through with this matter, the Archbishop bore a great share in the burden: insomuch that he complained to the Secretary of State, that another man's charge was laid upon him. letter of such as Nevertheless Bishop Grindal was not wanting in his en- Sets forth a deavours to bring over the Dissenters to be satisfied with Bullinger, what was enjoined. And among other means in order here to satisfy unto, he set forth now in print an excellent and right scrupled Christian letter of Henry Bullinger, the chief minister in conformity. Helvetia, sent to him and two other of the Bishops, viz. Horn, Bishop of Winton, and Parkhurst of Norwich, concerning the lawfulness of wearing the habits; but drawn up for the satisfaction of Sampson and Humfrey, two Oxford Divines, of great note there, the one Dean of Christ I. BOOK Church, and the other President of St. Magdalen's college. The letter was writ with such a clearness of reason, such Anno 1566. evidence from Scripture, and in such a fatherly, compas sionate style, that it had a very good effect upon many that before were ready to leave their ministry; but having read it were satisfied. Writes to Bullinger, concerning tists. This I collect from a letter of Grindal to Bullinger, writ in August this year; the original whereof is still extant at the separa- Zurich, with many other from our Bishops in those times sent to the learned men there. In which letter the Bishop related, "how some ministers, as Sampson and Humfrey, "continued incompliant, and that the Queen was highly "offended with them: but that if they should comply, it "were easy to reconcile them to her; but otherwise they, the 106" Bishops, could prevail little with her to give them coun "tenance: that many of the common sort had taken up re"solutions to separate from the national Church, and had "set up meetings distinct by themselves; but that now of "late the greater part were come to a better mind: to "which his [i. e. Bullinger's] letter had greatly contri"buted. He added, that when they [the Bishops] who had "been exiles in Germany could not persuade the Queen "and Parliament to remove these habits out of the Church, "though they had long endeavoured it, by common con"sent they thought it best not to leave the Church for some "rites, which were not many, nor in themselves wicked; "especially since the purity of the Gospel remained safe "and free to them. Nor had they to this present time re"pented themselves of this counsel: for their churches, "God giving the increase, were augmented much, which "otherwise had been preys to Lutherans and Semipapists." And to Zanchy upon the To this that I have said, I must add, that there is another excellent letter in my possession, of the said Bishop same sub- to Zanchy (besides those mentioned already) about the ject. present controversy: which though writ some years after, viz. about 1571 or 1572, I think it not amiss to lay before the reader's eyes in this place, to illustrate the more what |