hands. But he had also examples of eminent Bishops to warrant his avoidance of contests by submitting, for the fake of charity, to a forced ejectment. — He confidered "the peace of the Church to be of that importance, that it ought to fuperfede all ecclefiaftical Canons, they being only of human, not divine, authority."

>> *

Sancroft, Lloyd, Turner, and White of Peterborough, took an oppofite course, no doubt from equally confcientious motives: but the result, as he prophefied, proved adverse to the interests of religion. They held that, not only the Bishops of the Province of Canterbury, intruding into the Sees of the deprived, were fchifmatical, but the whole national Church! In the Province of York there was no deprival, — therefore no intrusion. How, then, could the canonical rights of those Bishops be queftioned, when the metropolitan and all his fuffragans (of whofe due confecration no doubt could exift) acted unanimously? They were fuppofed guilty of fchifm by contagion, because they communicated with the fucceffors of the deprived in the other Province! they no longer appertained to the Church Catholic, of which the Nonjurors were the only true members!

If ever there was an occafion which proved the hopeleffness of controverfy it was this. The mere lift of eminent men, disputing the imputation of schism, and the duties of churchmen, confequent on the lay deprivals, would fuffice to fhow what a mass of learning was brought to bear on these questions. We have a

Round's Profe Works of Ken, p. 50.

catalogue, in Bishop Lloyd's handwriting, of 120 tracts, pamphlets, and books which iffued from the prefs on both fides to fettle this, and the various other controverted points.* The fcriptures, old and new, the histories of the primitive ages, of the Roman and Greek Churches, of France, Spain, and England, afforded innumerable facts, illuftrating the main arguments each in its turn was claimed by the combatants as triumphant authority on their own behalf. Such is theological controverfy. Ken thought obedience, and lowlinefs of mind, plain good fenfe, charitable judgment, and a patient abiding in faith and prayer, were fafer guides to truth and Christian brotherhood,. than all the learning of the schools: the fureft facrifice of his own will.

If the State deprivals inflicted a blow on the unity, and therefore on the efficacy, of the Church, it was aggravated by the confequent acts of the leading Nonjurors. Sancroft, Lloyd, Turner, and White, assuming that the whole Church of England was in fchifm, determined, as far as in them lay, to make it perpetual. The Archbishop had already delegated his powers to Lloyd of Norwich, whom he appointed his Vicar General for all Archiepifcopal offices. It does not appear that he did fo by authority from James, as head of the Church de jure: certainly he never asked leave of William, as King de facto. Not content with this, they determined to confecrate Suffragan Bishops, who might continue, what they called, a "canonical fucceffion." This was to be done fecretly, to avoid the

Dr. Williams's Collection of Original Letters.

penal confequences to themselves; but it required, as they thought, the fanction of James. They fent over Dr. George Hickes, Dean of Worcester, to St. Germains, with a list of the Non-juring clergy, from which two Prelates were to be felected. James confulted the French Bishops, and the Pope,* who justified the measure he referred the choice to Sancroft and Lloyd; the former named Dr. Hickes, who was accordingly made Suffragan of Thetford, and the latter Thomas Wagstaffe, who was appointed Suffragan of Ipswich. Both places were in the Diocese of Norwich. But Sancroft died before the measure could be completed, therefore they were confecrated to their offices by Lloyd, Turner, and White, on the 23rd February, 1694.†

Surely this had in it more zeal than wisdom. The confecrations, being clandeftine, and most carefully concealed for many years, were no public witness to the truth. The appointment of Suffragans being always made in cafes of neceffity, for maintaining the fervices and discipline of the Church, that object could not be promoted by the secret confecrations, for it was expressly provided that the Suffragans fhould forbear to act, until failure of the deprived Bishop of Norwich, § who lived fourteen years afterwards.

They never notified their titles, put in their pleas, nor claimed or exercised any rights within their vifionary spheres of jurifdiction. If the lay authority

would not permit the Bishop of Norwich himself to fulfil his office, how would it tolerate the intrusion of Suffragans, in all refpects lefs lawfully appointed? The whole scheme was the creation of an honeft, but ill-regulated zeal. Serviceable ends are often a delufion men may run counter to the very religion they defire to preferve; and never more fo than when they go out of His appointed way to ferve and glorify Him. Hickes and others, confecrated to perpetuate orthodox miniftrations in the Anglican Church, came at last to insist on a departure from her ritual, and alterations in the Communion Service: they started in a wrong direction to their object, and could not but end wider of the mark. No prefent practical good was effected; and having now wandered out of the old ways, they entangled themselves in a maze of error, from which only their death, and that of their fucceffors, relieved the Church. Their Epifcopate, having no real vitality, was sustained for a while by an exertion, and at length died out from mere feeblenefs.

Ken steadfastly refused to sanction the new appointments, which he called "a perpetuating of the schism.” His principle as expreffed to Mr. Robert Nelson, was that "the strength of innocence is to fit ftill, and the wifest and most dutiful way to follow, rather than anticipate, Providence."* He thought it best for the interefts of all to abstain from any act that might widen, or continue, the breach. "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." This

Appendix to Kettlewell's Works, p. xxv.

for his part he was refolved to do. Though he should ftand alone, he would adhere to the Church of England, as he found her; a faithful son of his spiritual mother, neither coming fhort, nor going beyond her miniftrations. He loved her as fhe was: fome might attempt to improve, others to affail her doctrines and services to him they were all facred. Though fhe were in bonds, he might love and revere her, and abide her deliverance. In as much as he could not wait upon her, he left her to God's providence, knowing that in His hands were the times and feasons. We shall see how this proved, in the end, the highest wisdom and he had his reward; for it was reserved to him, fome years afterwards, to heal the schism, which he had no hand in originating.

We are not left only to furmise his exact views : they are recorded in the few letters of his, which have been preserved to us. Writing to Dr. Hickes, one of the most confpicuous, learned, and intrepid leaders of the Non-jurors, he fays, "I wrote to you long ago, to recommend to your serious confideration the Schifm, which has fo long continued in our Church, and which I have often lamented to my brother of Ely, now with God, and concerning which I have many years had ill abodings. I need not tell you what pernicious confequences it may produce, and I fear has produced already; what advantage it yields to our enemies."* Again, to the Bishop of Norwich, " I am willing to allow all degrees of excufeability to those who are of a different perfuafion from myself, in the bufinefs of clandeftine

* Round's Profe Works of Ken, p. 49.