History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. IIIFroude, James Anthony
History
History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. III
Froude, James Anthony
Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603
"The King's Highness to all and singular his loving subjects sends his
greeting. His Majesty, desiring othing more than to plant Christ and his
doctrine in all his people's hearts, hath thought good to declare how
much he is offended with all them that wring and wrest his words,
driving them to the maintenance of their fantasies, abuses, and naughty
opinions; not regarding how his Highness, as a judge indifferent between
two parties, whereof the one is too rash and the other too dull,
laboureth for agreement. Seeing the breach of small matters to be cause
of great dissension, his Highness had charged his subjects to observe
such ceremonies and rites as have been heretofore used in his Church,
giving therewith commandment to the bishops and curates to instruct the
people what ceremonies are, what good they do when not misused, what
hurt when taken to be of more efficacy and strength than they are. His
Highness, being careful over all his people, is as loath that the dull
party should fancy their ceremonies to be the chief points of Christian
religion, as he is miscontent with the rash party which hunt down what
they list without the consent of his Grace's authority. His Highness
wills that the disobedience of them that seek their lusts and liberties
shall be repressed, and they to bear the infirmity and weakness of
their neighbours until such time as they, enstrengthened, may be able to
go in like pace with them, able to draw in one yoke: for St. Paul would
a decent order in the Church; and, because God is a God of peace and not
of dissension, it were meet that all they that would be his should agree
on all points, and especially in matters of religion.
[Sidenote: The object of sacraments and ceremonies,]
[Sidenote: Which are signs of holy things, not instruments of
salvation;]
[Sidenote: But the priests are more careful over the form than the
matter.]
[Sidenote: Ceremonies must be used for the present, but used without
superstition.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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