History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. II.Froude, James Anthony
History
History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. II.
Froude, James Anthony
Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603
pope's name was erased from the mass; books; the statute of appeals and
the statute of succession were fixed against the doors of every parish
church in England, and the rectors and curates were directed every week
in their sermons to explain the meaning of these acts. The bishops were
held responsible for the obedience of the clergy; the sheriffs and the
magistrates had been directed to keep an eye upon the bishops; and all
the machinery of centralization was put in force to compel the
fulfilment of a duty which was well known to be unwelcome.
[Sidenote: The order for preaching. Every preacher to deliver one sermon
against the papal usurpation.]
[Sidenote: The archbishop's sentence to be held a thing of mere verity,
not to be again called in question.]
[Sidenote: The clergy are forbidden to preach upon disputed points of
doctrine.]
That as little latitude as possible might be left for resistance or
evasion, books were printed by order of council, and distributed through
the hands of the bishops, containing a minute account of the whole
proceedings on the divorce, the promises and falsehoods of the pope, the
opinions of the European universities, and a general epitome of the
course which had been pursued.[385] These were to be read aloud to the
congregations; and an order for preaching was at the same time
circulated, in which the minuteness of the directions is as remarkable
as the prudence of them. Every preacher was to deliver one sermon at
least ("and after at his liberty") on the encroachments and usurpations
of the papal power. He was to preach against it, to expose and refute it
to the best of his ability, and to declare that it was done away, and
might neither be obeyed nor defended further. Again in all places "where
the king's just cause in his matter of matrimony had been detracted, and
the incestuous and unjust [matrimony] had been set forth [and
extolled]," the clergy were generally directed "to open and declare the
mere verity and justice" of the matter, declaring it "neither doubtful
nor disputable," but to be a thing of mere verity, and so to be allowed
of all men's opinions. They were to relate in detail the pope's conduct,
his many declarations in the king's favour; the first decretal, which
was withheld by Campeggio, in which he had pronounced the marriage with
Catherine invalid; his unjust avocation of the cause to Rome; his
promises to the King of France; and finally, his engagement at
Marseilles to pronounce in the King of England's favour, if only he
would acknowledge the papal jurisdiction.[386] They were therefore to
represent the king's conduct as the just and necessary result of the
pope's duplicity. These things the clergy were required to teach, not as
matters of doubt and question, but as vital certainties on which no
difference of opinion could be tolerated. Finally, there were added a
few wholesome admonitions on other subjects, which mark the turning of
the tide from Catholic orthodoxy.
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