Page images
PDF
EPUB

bade him disclose his faith. Cranmer prayed and addressed the people; repeated the apostles' creed, and declared his faith in the holy scriptures He then turned to that which troubled his conscience more than any thing else, his recantation-declared it was drawn from him by the fear of death; had filled his soul with the deepest sorrow, and was most bitterly repented of; and that the hand which had done it, should burn first in the fire. The Papists were thrown into confusion, gnashed on him with their teeth, and drew him to the stake, where Ridley and Latimer had been burned. When the fire was kindling, he stretched forth his right hand to the flame, never moving it until it was burnt away. As the flames gathered around his body, he exclaimed often, "That unworthy hand,--Lord Jesus receive my spirit." Thus died one of the greatest promoters of the reformation, March 21st, 1556, in the 67th year of his age. But it was a martyrdom most injurious to the Romish cause. It was a direct breach of promise. The sympathy of thousands was awakened by his repentance, and his calm and patient endurance of torment.

For two years more the persecution continued with unabated fury. Bonner scorned to burn men singly and drove them in companies to the stake. The bodies of Bucer and Fagius were dug up, and with their books, were publicly burnt. But the reformers increased. They assembled together secretly for consultation and prayer. They afforded relief to those in prison, and buried the bodies of such as died there and were cast out in disgrace.

At length, to extirpate the hated religion entirely, the King and Queen resolved upon the introduction of the Inquisition, with all its horrors. But England was happily preserved from this by the death of Mary, on the 17th of November, 1558.

The Irish Protestants escaped her vengeance through a singular providence. Their number had become great, through the energetic proceedings of George Brown, whom Henry VIII. had created archbishop of Dublin, and Mary had resolved to extirpate them by flame. But while her messenger was on his way with the bloody commission, the wife of an innkeeper, hearing him say that he had a commission which would lash the Protestants of Ireland, and being friendly to them, contrived to steal away his commission, and put in its place a pack of cards. When the commissioner arrived at Dublin, he opened his commission in presence of the public authorities, and, to his confusion, found nothing but the cards; and before he could get a renewal of the commission, the queen was dead, and God's peo

CHAP. 17.

ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH.

317

ple escaped. Queen Elizabeth was so pleased with the tale that she conferred upon the woman forty pounds a year for life. No one can contemplate this dark period of England's histowithout feelings of horror at its bloody scenes, and gratitude for the blessings we enjoy. Two hundred and eighty eight persons, including twenty clergymen of whom five were bishops, were burnt alive; many were deprived of means of subsistence, imprisoned, tortured, scourged, placed in the most pain. ful postures, until they expired under their accumlated sufferings. An immense amount of wealth was sacrificed, and the spirit and character of the nation was sunk very low. But it was a fiery trial, through which it seemed necessary for the nation to pass. She had given her strength to the beast. Though reformed under Henry and Edward, she had not been weaned. This day of persecution made her heartily sick of popery. No one mourned the death of Mary. Every one hailed the accession of Elizabeth and the restoration of the Protestant religion. Elizabeth had been singularly preserved from the merciless fangs of Gardiner and Bonner. She began to reign at the age of twenty-four, and governed England forty-five years, with an energy, sagacity, and prudence of which few monarchs can boast. During her reign, Protestantism was firmly established in her dominions, and favoured and supported by her in other parts of Europe.

On her way to London she was greeted by thousands; and as the bishops and clergy came around her to congratulate her, she smiled upon all, except Bonner, from whom she turned in indignation, as a man of blood. At her coronation, as she passed under a triumphal arch, an English Bible was let down into her hands, by a child representing truth, which she received with reverence, accounting it the most valuable gift that could be bestowed.

No sooner was her accession known, than all who had fled into foreign countries returned. The papists had flattered themselves that they had at least extinguished the light of the reformation; but, to their astonishment, a great body of learned and pious men came forth, who, in exile or concealment, had made themselves well acquainted with the word of God. Elizabeth filled the vacant sees with Parker, Grindall, Cox, Sands, Jewel, Parkhurst, Pilkington, and others, who proved great ornaments to the British nation. She re-established King Edward's service in all the churches, and forbade the priests to elevate the host at mass, but she would use no violence. Such papists as chose, she permitted to retire beyond the seas.

Such as retired from the priest's office, she pensioned. Of these, the number was small; the Papists thinking it better for their own cause to acknowledge the Queen's supremacy, than refuse and quit the kingdom. Out of nine thousand and four hundred beneficed men, only fourteen bishops and one hundred and seventy-five others resigned their livings. The others remained in the church, "a miserable set of weathercocks." The monks returned to secular life and the nuns went to France and Spain. Bonner maintained his sullen temper, refused to submit to the queen, was committed to prison, where he died. Elizabeth was in favour of images in the churches, but so did the clergy oppose them, that she gave orders to have them all taken down. The Bible was translated anew, and published in 1571. The articles of religion received by king Edward, were revised and adopted, leaving the doctrine of the real presence untouched, and the English establishment was settled nearly upon its present form.

CHAP. 18.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

319

CHAPTER XVIII.

Troubles in the English Church. Efforts of the Papists to regain their lost dominion. Rise of the Puritans. Acts of Supremacy and uniformity. Demands of the Puritans. Persecutions of the High Commission Court. The Puritans separate from the establishment. Their character and principles. Conference at Hampton Court, and oppression under James I. Popish powder plot. King James' translation of the Bible. Persecutions by Laud, and overthrow of Episcopacy. Assembly of Divines at Westminister. Irish Massacre. Triumph of the Puritans. Restoration of Monarchy and Episcopacy. Severities towards the Nonconformists. Efforts of Infidelity. New efforts of the Papists. Revolution. Rise of two parties, High and Low Church. Bangorian Controversy. Deists. Great excitement from the Methodists. Effects of the French Revolution. Present state of parties. Discipline and Doctrine of the Church of England. Distinguished Divines.

Although the Church of England, seemed, at the accession of Elizabeth, to be firmly re-established; yet she soon met with severe trials. The Catholics employed every measure that human ingenuity could devise, to regain their lost dominion, The Pope first addressed a conciliatory letter to the queen, inviting her to the bosom of the Church; and, finding this in vain, excommunicated her, and absolved all her subjects from their oath of allegiance. Conspiracies were formed to set Mary, queen of Scots, upon the throne. Elizabeth was represented as a monster in cruelty. The ladies about her were exhorted by the Jesuits to assassinate her. And finally, the whole power of Spain was brought against the kingdom. Philip, with an immense force, called the Spanish Armada, came into the British channel, with the design of taking the throne, re-establishing Popery, enforcing it by all the horrors of the inquisition, and sending Elizabeth to Rome, to be treated by the Pope as he pleased. But the Armada was scattered by tempests, and the design was confounded.

Other troubles arose in her own bosom. Among the fugitives from bloody Mary's persecution, some who took refuge at Frankfort in Germany, became attached to the Genevan forms of worship and discipline, and shewed a determination to renounce entirely all the peculiar usages of the church of Rome which had been retained from politic motives, and from their

practice according to the presbyterian mode. They laid aside King Edward's service, the surplice and the responses of the liturgy. And because they considered their new worship as purer or more scriptural than their old, they were, in ridicule, called PURITANS. In the steps they had taken, they met with violent opposition from many of their brethren. Dr. Cox, who had been tutor to king Edward, disturbed their worship by answering aloud after the minister, and accused the celebrated John Knox, who was then pastor of these exiles, of enmity to the Emperor. Knox and his friends were driven from the city, and the episcopal forms were re-established. But the Puritans

received great support from the church at Geneva, and increased rapidly in numbers; and when, upon the accession of Elizabeth, they returned to their native country, it was not without strong hope that they should bring over the nation, now sick of every thing appertaining to Popery, to their views and practices. But Elizabeth was more of a papist than puritan. With her was lodged absolute power. The parliament early passed an ACT OF SUPREMACY vesting in the crown the supreme power of all matters ecclesiastical and spiritual; giving the Queen the power to repress all heresies, establish or repeal all canons, alter every point of discipline, and ordain or abolish any relig ious rite or ceremony."* They also passed an act, June 24, 1559, called the ACT OF UNIFORMITY, by which the nation were bound to submit to the liturgy, and observe all the rites, ceremonies, holidays, forms and habits of the church. The door was at once closed by this act against any reconciliation; and the more they contemplated the church service, the farther did the Puritans remove from a spirit of submission.

At first they objected merely to the episcopal vestments, the square cap, the tippet and the surplice which they called "conjuring garments of popery," but they soon insisted upon a parity among all the ministers of Christ, and the validity of ordination conferred by ordinary ministers as well as by bishops; they demanded the abolition of archdeacons, deans, canons and other officers not known in scripture; refused the admission of any to communion who did not give good evidence of personal piety; denounced festivals and holidays in honour of saints; the sign of the cross, and the use of godfathers and godmothers, to the exclusion of parents in the baptism of children; kneeling at the sacrament; bowing at the name of Jesus: confirmation of children, and prohibition of marriage at certain seasons

* Hume.

« PreviousContinue »