But though the council was evidently in earnest to promote further reformation in the church of England, its movements were quite too slow for the more ardent reformers. The exiles, who had suffered deeply under the workings of the semipapal church establishment of Henry VIII., on getting back to their native land inveighed against the remaining impurities of the English church, and earnestly recommended the more simple and scriptural models of church organization and government with which they had become familiar abroad. Some of the clergy and many of the English laity sympathized with these views. Ridley, in his Lent sermons, early in the spring of 1546-47, so preached against images and holy water, as to raise a "great heat over England." Dr. John Haley, of Magdalen College, Oxford, about the same time, declaimed with great violence against the pope and the old tenets. Images, and pictures of saints, and the crucifix, were taken down from St. Martin's church, London; and on May-day (1547) the people of Portsmouth pulled

gear will not tarry; it is but my lord protector's and my lord of Canterbury's doings. The king is a child, and he knows not of it.' But old father Latimer upon this hath these words: 'Have we not a noble king? Was there ever so noble, so godly, brought up with such noble councillors, so excellent and welllearned schoolmasters? I will tell you this, (and I speak it even as I think,) his majesty hath more godly wit and understanding, more learning and knowledge at this age, than twenty of his progenitors, that I could name, had at any time of their life."" Ecc. Mems., vol. 11. pt. 1. bk. 1, ch. 4, p. 38.

down and broke in pieces images of Christ and of the saints. These Portsmouth iconoclasts were denounced by Bishop Gardiner as hogs, or worse than hogs, even Lollards.† Collier attributes all these unauthorized attacks on old rites and superstitions to "the gospellers, as they were then called," who "overran the motions of the State, and ventured to reform without public authority."

On the 4th of November, Edward's first parliament met. Why it was not called together at an earlier day does not satisfactorily appear; for it was generally among the first acts of a new reign to summon the high court of parliament. The Reformers might have wanted time to mature their plans, send out their commissioners, infuse something of their own spirit into the people at large, and get some returns from the visitors, before meeting a parliament. The feud with Scotland, too, which broke out into open hostilities during the summer of 1547, and which required the protector's personal presence with the English army in the invasion of that country, may have contributed to defer the calling of parliament. However this may be, one thing is certain, the English parliament did not assemble until nine months and more after the accession of Edward VI. to the English throne. But when parliament did meet,

* Burnet, vol. 11. pt. 1. bk. 1. pp. 17-23.

† See ante, p. 5; Burnet, ut sup.

Ecc. Hist. of Eng., v. 181, 182. London, 8vo. 1852.

it was found ready, as usual, to do the will of the court in respect to religious matters; and under the direction of the council, it began almost immediately to relax and alter the laws which had borne so heavily on the protestants in the preceding reign.*

The first act which had any reference to religion was introduced on the 12th of November, and relates to the administration of the sacrament of the altar. It condemns the unreverent and ungodly disputations which had been indulged in by some persons respecting that most holy mystery, and the unseemly words which had been applied to it, and threatens severe punishment on all such irrev

erent persons. It, however, provides that the sacrament shall be commonly delivered and ministered to the people in both kinds, of bread and wine, as being more conformable to the common use and practice of the apostles and primitive church, by the space of five hundred years and

66

* According to "Thomas Hancock, a preacher, who, in the latter time of King Henry and during the reign of King Edward, did much good in Wiltshire and Hantshire, by his diligent preaching the gospel," the people of the town of Pole, in the county of Dorset, were the first that in that part of England were called Protestants." This appears to have been in the first year of Edward's reign. "Which town," we are told, "at that time, was wealthy; for they embraced God's word; they were in favor with the rulers and governors of the realm; * * * they did love one another, and every one glad of the company of the others, and God poured his blessings plentifully upon them." They afterwards, however, fell away, lost their religious character and their secular prosperity. — Strype, ut sup. ch. 9. pp. 115, 116.

more after, Christ's ascension.

were also prohibited.*

Private masses

This law, which was accompanied by a royal proclamation, dated December 27th, 1547, against "irreverent talkers of the sacrament," was, like many public acts of this period, two-edged, cutting both papists and protestants. "The sacra

ment of the altar," as the Lord's supper was called by the Romanists, was a fruitful theme of discussion and disputation. It was a sort of test question between the two great contending parties of the day. The numerous points raised about it, and the earnestness of the discussions to which it

gave birth, prove this. For example, we find priests and people vehemently disputing whether this rite, ordinance, institution, was a sacrament or a mass; a commemorative, symbolical act, or an oft-repeated oblation and sacrifice of the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; whether it should be partaken of by all the people, or by the priests alone; and whether it should be administered in both kinds, or only in the bread. spect to all these questions, the law decided against the papists. It abolished the mass, and substituted for it the sacrament of the Lord's supper. It determined that all Christian people were entitled to partake of this commemorative supper, and that

In re

* Statutes of the Realm, 1 Edward VI. ch. 1; Burnet, vol. II. pt. 1. bk. 1. pp. 84-87.

↑ Burnet, vol. II. pt. II. bk. I., and Records, No. 25.

it should be celebrated by the administration of the consecrated wine, as well as the bread. But then, the law and the proclamation threatened condign punishment on those who indulged in "unreverent and ungodly disputations" about the holy mystery, and who applied to it "unseemly words." These clauses were aimed chiefly against the violent protestants, or anti-Romanists, who, not content with renouncing the errors of the popish mass, descended to a species of denunciation and ridicule which was little short of downright impiety and profanity. The papists had been teaching for hundreds of years and burning to death those who denied or even doubted the truth of their teaching that Christ was not only present in the mass, but present corporally in his real body and blood-that very same body which was born of the virgin, was crucified, died, and was buried; and that body, whole and entire, too, flesh, blood, bones! This was the absurd doctrine of the church, for the denial of which many a poor Lollard, as we have seen in the progress of this history, was burned at Smithfield and elsewhere. The time had been, when even the expression of a doubt on this subject was fatal to the doubter. Now, however, the ban of condemnation being taken off, and the minds of people being freed from the awful constraint in which they had been previously held, they not unnaturally went into speculations about the sacramental presence, which were frivolous, and some of them, certainly, very