fresh mortification, by appointing another at Oxford in presence of the whole University; and because archbishop Cranmer, bishops Ridley and Latimer, were the most celebrated divines of the reformation, they were by warrant from the Queen removed from the Tower to Oxford, to manage the dispute. The convocation sent their prolocutor and several of their members, who arriving on the 13th of April, being Friday, sent for the bishops on Saturday, and appointed them Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, every one his day, to defend their doctrine. The questions were upon transubstantiation, and the propitiatory sacrifice of the mass. The particulars of the dispute are in Mr. Fox's book of martyrs. The bishops behaved with great modesty and presence of mind; but their adversaries insulted and triumphed in the most barbarous manner. Bishop Ridley writes, "That there were perpetual shoutings, tauntings, "reproaches, noise and confusion." Cranmer and old Latimer were hiss'd and laugh'd at;* and Ridley was borne down with noise and clamor; "In all my life (says he) I "never saw any thing carried more vainly and tumultuous"ly; I could not have thought that there could have been "found any English man honored with degrees in learn"ing, that could allow of such thrasonical ostentations, "more fit for the stage than the schools." On the 28th of April they were summoned again to St. Mary's and required by Weston the prolocutor to subscribe, as having been vanquished in disputation; but they all refusing, were declared obstinate heretics, and no longer members of the catholic church.

It was designed to expose the reformers by another disputation at Cambridge; but the prisoners in London hearing of it published a paper, declaring "That they would not dispute "but in writing, except it were before the Queen and coun"cil, or before either house of parliament, because of the "misreports and unfair usage they had every where met with." At the same time they printed a summary of their faith, for which they were ready to offer up their lives to the halter or the fire, as God should appoint.t

Strype's Life of Cranmer, p. 338. Hist. Ref. vol. ii. p. 285.

And here they declared, "That they believed the scrip"tures to be the true word of God, and the judge of all "controversies in matters of religion; and that the Church "is to be obeyed as long as she followed this word.

"That they adhered to the Apostles' creed; and those "creeds set out by the councils of Nice, Constantinople, "Ephesus and Calcedon ; and by the first and fourth coun"cils of Toledo; and the symbols of Athanasius, Irenæus, "Tertullian, and Damasus.

"They believed justification by faith alone; which faith "was not only an opinion, but a certain persuasion wrought "by the Holy Ghost, which did illuminate the mind, and "supple the heart to submit itself unfeignedly to God.

"They acknowledged the necessity of an inherent righ"teousness; but that justification and pardon of sins came "only by Christ's righteousness imputed to them.

"They affirmed, that the worship of God ought to be "performed in a tongue understood by the people.

"That Christ only, and not the saints, were to be "prayed to.

"That immediately after death departed souls pass eith"er into the state of the blessed, or of the damned, without "any purgatory between.

"That Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the Sacra"ments of Christ, which ought to be administered according "to his institutions; and therefore they condemned the "denying the cup to the people, transubstantiation, the ado"ration or sacrifice of the mass: and asserted the lawfulness "of marriage to all ranks and orders of men."

These truths they declare themselves ready to defend, as before; and in conclusion they charged all people to enter into no rebellion against the Queen, but to obey her in all points, except where her commands are contrary to the law of God. This put an end to all farther triumphs of the popish party for the present, and was a noble testimony to the chief and distinguishing doctrines of the protestant faith. But since the reformers were not to be run down by noise and clamor, therefore their stedfastness must undergo the âery trial.

The Queen's third parliament met Nov. 11, 1554. In the writs of summons the title of supreme head of the church was omitted, though it was still by law vested in the crown. The money brought from Spain had procured a house of commons devoted to the court. The first bill passed in the house was the repeal of cardinal Pole's attainder. It had the royal assent Nov. 22d, and the Cardinal himself arrived in England two days after in quality of the pope's legate, with a commission to receive the kingdom of England into the bosom of the catholic church under the pope as their supreme pastor. On the 27th he made a speech in parliament, inviting them to a reconciliation with the apostolic see. Two days after a committee of lords and commons was appointed to draw up a supplication to the King and Queen, to intercede with the legate for a reconciliation; with a promise to repeal all acts made against the pope's authority. This being presented by both houses on their knees to the King and Queen, they made intercession with the cardinal, who thereupon made a long speech in the house, at the close of which he enjoined them for penance to repeal the laws above-mentioned, and so in the pope's name he granted them a full absolution, which they received on their knees; and then absolved the realm from all censures.

The act of repeal was not ready till the beginning of Jan. when it passed both houses, and received the royal assent. It enumerates and reverses all acts since the 20th of Henry VIII. against the holy see; but then it contains the following restrictions, which they pray, through the cardinal's intercession, may be established by the pope's authority:

1. "That all bishoprics, cathedrals or colleges, now es"tablished, may be confirmed for ever. 2. That marriages "within such degrees as are not contrary to the law of God, "may be confirmed, and their issue legitimated. 3. That "institutions into benefices may be confirmed. 4. That all "judicial processes may be confirmed. 5. That all the set"tlements of the lands of any bishoprics, monasteries, or "other religious houses, may continue as they were, with"out any trouble from the ecclesiastical courts."

The cardinal admitted of these requests, but ended with a heavy denunciation of the judgments of God upon those

who had the goods of the church in their hands, and did not restore them. And to make the clergy more easy, the statutes of Mortmain were repealed for twenty years to come. But after all the pope refused to confirm the restrictions, alledging, that the legate had exceeded his powers; so that the possessors of church lands had but a precarious title to their estates under this reign; for even before the reconciliation was fully concluded, the pope published a bull, by which he excommunicates all those persons who were in possession of the goods of the church or monasteries, and did not restore them.* This alarmed the superstitious Queen, who apprehending herself near her time of childbirth, sent for her ministers of state, and surrendered up all the lands of the church that remained in the crown, to be disposed of as the pope or his legate should think fit. But when a proposal of this kind was made to the commons in parliament, some of them boldly laid their hands upon their swords, and said, They well knew how to defend their own properties. But the Queen went on with acts of devotion to the church; she repaired several old monasteries,and erected new ones; she ordered a strict enquiry to be made after those who had pillaged the churches and monasteries, and had been employed in the visitations of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. She commanded bishop Bonner to raze out of the public records all that had been done against the monks; and particularly the accounts of the visitations of monasteries; which has rendered the ecclesiastical history of this time defective.

The next act brought into the house, was for reviving the statutes of Richard II. and Henry IV. and V. for burning heretics; which passed both houses in six days, to the unspeakable joy of the popish clergy. The houses having been informed of some heretical preachers, who had prayed in their conventicles, that God would turn the Queen's heart from idolatry to the true faith, or else shorten her days; they passed an act, "That all that prayed after this man"ner should be adjudged traitors." After which on the 16th January 1555, the parliament was dissolved.

VOL. I.

* Burnet's Hist. Ref. vol. ii. p. 309.

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The kingdom being now reconciled to the church of Rome, and the penal laws against heretics revived, a council was held about the manner of dealing with the reformed. It is said, that cardinal Pole was for the gentler methods of instruction and persuasion, which is somewhat doubtful;* but Gardiner was certainly for rigor, in imagining that a few examples of severity upon the heads of the party, would terrify the rest into a compliance. The Queen was of his mind, and commanded Gardiner, by a commission to himself and some other bishops, to make the experiment. He began with Mr. Rogers, Mr. Cardmaker, and bishop Hooper, who had been kept in prison 18 months without law. These upon examination were asked, whether they would abjure their heretical opinions about the sacrament, and submit to

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*Strype's Memoirs of Cranmer, p. 347, and Life of Whitgift, p. 6. Mr. Strype's words in the former place are as follows: "In these in"structions (given to the elergy) there are several strictures that make "it appear Pole was not so gentle towards the heretics as was reported, "but rather the contrary, and that he went hand in hand with the bloody "bishops of these days; for it is plain, that he put the bishops upon pro"ceeding with them (the protestants) according to the sanguinary laws "lately revived, and put in full force and virtue. What an invention was that of his, a kind of inquisition by him set up, wherein the names "of all such were to be written, that in every place and parish in En"gland were reconciled; and so whosoever were not found in those books, "might be known to be no friends to the pope; and so to be proceeded "against. And indeed after Pole's crafty and zealous management of "this reconciliation (with Rome,) all that good opinion that men had "before of him vanished, and they found themselves much mistaken in “him, insomuch that people spoke of him as bad as of the pope himself, "or the worst of his cardinals.-Indeed he had frequent conferences "with the protestants about justification by faith alone, &c. and would ❝often wish the true doctrine might prevail; but now the mask was ❝ taken off, and he shewed himself what he was."

In the place answering to the latter reference, Strype says, " He whol"ly italianized, and returned into England endued with a nature for"eign and fierce, and was the VERY BUTCHER and SCOURGE OF THE "ENGLISH CHURCH." Author's Review, p. 896.

Dr. Warner, whose character of cardinal Pole is a panegyric, yet says, "That he was very inconsistent in one particular; which was, that at the same time he was exclaiming against the persecution of the reformed, and would not himself take any part in that slaughter, he was giving commissions to others to proceed in it, and returned a certificate into the court of chancery, of several who had been convicted of heresy be fore the commissaries of his appointing." Eccl. Hist. v. ii. p. 402. ED.