Characters from the Histories & Memoirs of the Seventeenth Century
History
Characters from the Histories & Memoirs of the Seventeenth Century
Great Britain -- Biography; Great Britain -- History -- Stuarts, 1603-1714
He prevented likewise a very private and clandestine designe of
introducing Nonconformists into too too many Churches; for that
society of men (that they might have Teachers to please their itching
ears) had a designe to buy in all the Lay-Impropriations, which the
Parish-Churches in Henry the VIII's time were robb'd of, and lodging
the Advowsons and Presentations in their own Feoffees, to have
introduced men, who would have introduced doctrines suitable to their
dependences, which the Court already felt too much the smart of, by
being forced to admitt the Presentations of the Lay-Patrons, who too
often dispose their benefices to men, rather suitable to their own
opinions, than the Articles and Canons of the Church.
All this bred him more and more envy; but if it had pleas'd God to
have given him an uninterrupted course, and if few of his Successors
had walked in his stepps, wee might, without any tendency to Popery,
or danger of superstition, have serv'd God reverently and uniformely,
and according unto Primitive practice and purity, and not have bin, as
we are now, like a shivered glass, scarse ever to be made whole again.
Thus finding Providence had led him into authority, he very really and
strongly opposed both Popery and Presbytery. He was sensible, how the
first by additions had perverted the purity of Religion, and turned
it into a policy; but resolving not to contest Rome's truths, tho'
he spared not her errors, both Papist and Presbyter, with all their
Lay-Party, were well contented, that it might be believed, he was
Popishly affected. And being conscious likewise, how Presbytery or
the Calvinisticall Reformation, which many here, and more in Scotland,
affected, by substraction and novel interpretation, had forsaken the
good old ways of the primitive Church, and was become dangerous to
Monarchy, he sett himself against this, as well as that: but both
their weights crusht him....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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