aries of places see to it that the sacred canons in general, the ordinations of the Apostolic legates, the provincial laws of this realm, touching the life and honest conversation of the clergy be strictly observed under pain of the penalties therein expressed.* And since certain abuses have crept in through the late misfortune, we have deemed it right to make some special ordinances hereupon. We forbid matrimony to religious persons of both sexes, to all clerical persons, regular and secular above the degree of subdeacon or of that degree,† according to the sacred canons and the custom of the Church. Let clerical habits be worn, the tonsure; let the canonical hours be observed: and secular employments by no means allowed. In conferring holy orders let the greatest care be taken, for great scandals have arisen from the rash imposition of hands. We implore, we beseech, we charge bishops not to transfer to others the burden of examining candidates, doing nought themselves but lay on hands. And in candidates let it be enquired first of all whether they are infected with any heresy then the other necessary qualities must be sought and diligent care should be taken not to promote to holy orders without a sufficient title, lest the person be afterwards compelled to beg, or to make the holy mass a thing to be purchased, to the infamy of the clerical order. Long vacancies are a great scandal : and in filling vacancies bishops ought not to look to what things are their own, or to their relations and connections, but to fitness. Bishops ought to have from the heads of colleges the names of fit persons, to * The clause about pains and penalties added. + The clause including subdeacon added. The clause about heresy added to Decree 6. The clause about a sufficient title added. The words relatives and connections added in Decree 7. VOL. IV. H H fill vacant livings without delay. We declare against disposing of benefices before they are void, which is done in many fraudulent ways contrary to a decree of the Lateran council. The abominable crime of simony we order to be punished by deprivation on the part of the presentate, by excommunication in the lay patron, according to the constitution of Pope Paul the Second of happy recordation, which we renew with all others on the subject: adding a form of oath to be taken by all presentates. "As to alienation, we renew the constitution of Paul the Second of happy recordation, and that of Otho and Othobon of good memory against farms and leases, and all other such provisions: not however trenching upon those goods of the Church that are now detained by the sanction of the Holy See. Terriers ought to be kept and inspected under regulations which we give. We desire to erect a school in cur cathedral churches for the education of those intended for holy functions: and from this we would not exclude the rich, though we design it firstly for the sons of the poor: who may be admitted scholars not under eleven years. of age, their inclination being ascertained: of whom the senior division may be acolytes and assist in the choir: and all of whom must wear the clerical tonsure and habit, and live like the clerks: to maintain which school the bishop and the cathedral foundation are to contribute of their fruits. In this would we remedy the dearth of ecclesiastical persons, and particularly of able persons.* As to the visitation of churches, a most salutary means of checking abuses, we command all visitors to take with them those persons whose aid they require, and of them only men of approved honesty and probity: to be * The clause complaining of dearth of ecclesiastics added in Decree II. content with moderate victual, and to finish their visitation as quickly as possible.* possible.* A visitation should begin with the cathedral church, then all other churches in the city, and include not only the parochs, but all the priests and other clergy: schools, hospitals and libraries should be visited, the last especially to discover whether they contain heretical or prohibited books. We give full directions to bishops for their visitations almost in the form of articles to be enquired: to metropolitans, in visiting their provinces, we give full directions, renewing the constitution of Innocent the Fourth of happy recordation, to enquire concerning bishops: what they find amiss, they may either correct at the time, or refer to the provincial synod, or, if need be, to the Apostolic See. As for archdeacons, we give them a prescript form of visitation, and renew the constitution of Otho and Othobon of blessed memory, that they are not to take money from offenders. For all prelates we renew the constitution of Pope Innocent the Third, passed in a general council, that they may exercise their function freely."+ Such was Pole's great instrument of reformation. Having read it in the original form in Lambeth Church, The clauses indirectly reflecting on the outrageous visitations of the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. added in Decree 12. + Decree 12 almost rewritten. Originally it referred almost entirely to the visitation of archdeacons, those of bishops and the rest being treated in a single sentence, that they were to be triennial. No visitations are recognised but those of the ordinaries of the Church. For the rest, in comparing the Reformatio Angliæ with the original Constitutions, may be noted the care in applying honorific titles. In both documents Popes are cited as felicis recordationis, legates and an English archbishop are bonæ memoriæ: Gregory the Great only (in the Reformatio only he occurs) is beatus. But Popes are more carefully cited with their addition in the Reformatio than in the other. In the Constitutions they come as often without as with it, that is, four or five times. It will also be observed that several times the Constitutions agree as to subject with the records of the deliberations of the Synod. he invited the synod to follow him into the palace chapel where the Mass of the Trinity was solemnly performed, the Legate himself at the conclusion of the service offering up some prayers, and Watson preaching a sermon, in which he announced that the synod was prorogued. The synod never met again. Pole, having read the performance, in which he had drawn the plan of so great a work, grew weary or disgusted, according to his wont, at the prospect of executing the work itself. When the time came, to which he had prorogued the Synod, he prorogued it again. When the time to which it had been again prorogued drew nigh, he again continued it. Before the day again assigned arrived, he deferred it again with no day named.* All those great measures of reformation, of erection, revision, and translation, slept for ever. But in the meantime, in the happy quietude of his library, doubtless with the aid of his attendant theologians, he touched into the form, which we have perused and admired, the legatine constitutions to which the synod had listened; and of a monumental labour he sent a written copy to the Pope.† "Hoc facto, adierunt sacellum infra manerium reverendissimi, ubi solemnis Missa de Trinitate habita fuit, reverendissimo, episcopis et clero ibidem presentibus, cum copiosa multitudine plebis. Et, finita Missa, fiebant nonnullæ precationes, ministrante reverendissimo. Et postea Mag. Watson ex suggestu Latine concionem habuit, in qua inter alia pronunciavit prorogationem factam a reverendissimo usque in diem 10 Oct. proximo futuri (1556)." Wilkins, iv. 132. This should be 10 Nov.: not Oct. according to Pole himself (Ib. 151): but it matters not. When the day came, the synod was prorogued again to May 10, 1557 then to Nov. 10 (Ib.): Then sine die, as appears from a short letter of Bonner's, Ib. 154. Pole found admirable reasons: the approach of Lent, the inconvenience of so many away, the scarcity of provisions, &c. Pole sent his Decrees, no doubt in the final shape of the Reformatio Angliæ, which was afterwards printed at Rome, to Rome to Paul the Fourth by the band of Mariano Vittoria of Reate, a friend of his, with a letter to the Pope, of a somewhat apologetic tone, informing him that In the diocese of Canterbury, before Pole was appointed administrator thereof, the five martyrs who had perished by fire in the beginning of September,* were followed about the end of October by Webb, Roper, Parker, three more, who suffered together in the same place, the market-place of Canterbury. The proceedings in these humble victims, so far as they have been deemed worthy of record, cast no new light on the methods of the persecution: their answers on the usitate subjects were plain and simple: their behaviour was resolute; and in one of them, the stout young fellow Roper, awoke the wild humour of the northern kempers: who, when he had taken off his coat, "set a great jump"; and held his arms stretched in the form of a rood, while he was consumed. They were all examined before the synod was prorogued in order that the bishops might be in their sees during Lent, and that he himself had been much occupied in distributing the goods of the Church of the royal bounty. This letter is without date, Epist. v. 19: and is probably much later than two others of Pole's letters in which he refers to the synod. In one of these, February 17, 1556, he informs King Philip of the prorogation, giving another reason for it, extols the labours and spirit of the synod, which had "replaced things as much as possible according to the rules and institutions of the Church, without any innovation whatever;" and says that he was much assisted by Fra Bartolomeo Carranza di Miranda and Fra Pedro de Soto, whom he had sent for lately from Oxford for this purpose. Ven. Cal. p. 346. Cabrera also in his Philip II. says that Pole was assisted by Carranza : "En il sinodo se establecieron con intervencion de frai Bartoleme de Carranza decretos convenientes a la estirpacion de las eregias i reformacion de lo espiritual," p. 29. Carranza was indeed much employed by Pole at this time. In his other letter, of February 19, 1556, Pole addresses Cardinal Morone the Vice-protector of England, and gives him a long summary of what had been done in the synod: that is, of the contents of the decrees; in order that the Cardinal might communicate it to the Pope, the decrees not being yet in suitable order to be sent. Ven. Cal. p. 347. This is a very interesting document. There is another letter, to Scotto, Cardinal of Trani, in which Pole mentions that he has sent Mariano with the decrees and another writing on the subject. Of this the date is conjectured of June, Ven. Cal. p. 500. * Above, p. 398. † Fox, 458. |