MarginaliaD. Boners othe agaynst the Pope. YE shall neuer cōsent nor agree that the byshop of Rome shal practise, exercise, or haue any maner of authoritie, iurisdiction, or power within this Realme or any other the kynges dominion, but that you shall resiste the same at all tymes, to the vttermost of your power: and that from henceforth ye shall accept, repute, and take the Kynges Maiestie to be the onely supreme head in earth of the church of England, and that to your cunning, witte, and vttermost of your power, without guile, fraude, or other vndue meane, ye shal obserue, keepe, mainteine, and defend the whole effectes and contentes of all and singular Actes and Statutes made and to be made within this Realme, in derogation, extirpation, and extinguishment of the Byshop of Rome and his authoritie, and all other Actes and Statutes made and to be made in reformation and corroboration of the Kynges power of supreme head in earth of the Church of England, and this ye shall do agaynst all maner of persons, of what estate, dignitie, degree, or condition they be, and in no wise do, nor attempt, nor to your power, suffer to be done or attempted, directly or indirectly, any thyng or thynges, priuely or appertly, to the let, hinderaunce, dammage, or derogatiō therof, or of any part therof, by any maner of meanes or for any maner of pretense: And in case any othe be made or hath bene made by you to any person or persons in maintenaūce or fauour of the Byshop of Rome or his authoritie, iurisdiction, or power, ye repute the same as vayne and adnihilate, so helpe you God, &c.

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In fidem præmissorum ego Edmundus Boner,
electus & confirmatus Londonensis Episco-
pus, huic præsenti chartæ subscripsi.

Marginalia1538 It wilbe iudged, that I haue lyngred peraduenture to much in these outward affaires of Princes and Ambassadours. Wherefore, leauyng with these by matters perteinyng to the Ciuill state a while, I mynde (the Lord willyng) to put my story in order agayne of such occurrentes as belong vnto the Church, first shewyng such Iniunctions and Articles, as were deuised and set forth by the kyng, for the behoufe of his subiectes  

. Wherin first is to be vnderstāded, that the kyng, when he had taken the title of supremacie from the Byshop of Rome, and had translated the same to himselfe, and was now a full Prince in his owne realme,MarginaliaThe king & his counsaile bearing with the weakenes of the people. although he well perceiued, by the wisedome and aduise of the Lord Cromwell and other of his Counsaile, that the corrupt state of the Church had neede of reformation in many thynges: yet because he saw how stubburne and vntoward the hartes of many Papistes were to be brought from their old persuasions and customes, and what businesse he had with them, onely about the matter of the Popes title, he durst not by and by reforme all at once (whiche notwithstandyng had bene to be wished) but leadyng them fayre and softely, as he might, proceded by litle and litle, to bryng greater purposes to perfection (which he no doubt would haue done, if the Lord Cromwell had lyued)   and thereforeMarginaliaThe booke of articles deuised by the king for quietnes of the people. &c. first hee began with a little booke of Articles (partly aboue touched) bearyng this title. Articles deuised by the Kynges hyghnesse, to stable Christen quietnesse and vnitie among the people. &c.  

Commentary     Close

What folllows is a sharply abridged version of the Ten Articles, produced in the Convocation of 1536, and the first attempt at defining the doctrines of the newly established Church of England. The total document is rather more traditional in its orientation that Foxe's version: notably it defended the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the Sacrament and it gave (an admittedly qualified) approval of prayers for the souls of the dead.

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IN the contentes of which booke, first be set forth the Articles of our Christian Creede, which are necessarely and expressely to be beleued of all men. Then with the Kynges Preface going before, foloweth the declaration of three Sacramentes:MarginaliaOf 3 sacramentes. to witte, of Baptisme, of Penaunce, and of the Sacrament of the Aultar. In the tractation wherof, he altereth nothyng from the olde trade receaued heretofore from the Churche of Rome.  

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MarginaliaOf iustification. Further then, proceedyng to the order and cause of our iustification  

, he declareth, that the onely mercy and grace of the father promised freely vnto vs for his sonnes sake Iesu Christ, and the merites of his Passiō and bloud, be the onely sufficient and worthy causes of our iustifification: yet good workes with inward contrition, hope, and charitie, and all other spiritual graces and motions, be necessarily required, and must needes concurre also in remission of our sinnes, that is, our iustificatiō: & afterward we being iustified, must also haue good workes of charitie, and obedience towardes God, in the obseruing and fulfilling outwardly of his lawes and commaundementes. &c.

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MarginaliaOf Images. As touchyng Images, he willeth all Byshops & preachers to teach the people in such sorte, as they may know, how they may vse them safely in Churches, and not abuse them to Idolatry, as thus: that they be representers of ver tue and good example, and also by occasion, may be styrrers of mens myndes, and make them to remember them selues, and to lament their sinnes: and so farre he permitteth them to stand in Churches. But otherwise, for auoydyng of Idolatrie, he chargeth all byshops and preachers diligently to instructe the people, that they commit no Idolatrye vnto them, in sensing of them, in knelyng and offeryng to them, with other lyke worshyppynges, which ought not to bee done, but onely to God.

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MarginaliaOf honoring of Saintes. And likewise for honoryng of Saintes, the Byshops and preachers be cōmaunded to informe þ^e people, how Saintes hence departed ought to bee reuerenced and honored and how not. That is, that they are to be praysed and honored as the elect seruauntes of Christe, or rather Christe to bee praysed in them for theyr excellent vertues planted in them and for theyr good example left to vs, teachyng vs to lyue in vertue and goodnes, and not to feare to dye for Christe, as they dyd: and also as aduauncers of our prayers, in that they may, but yet no confidence  

, nor any such honour to bee giuen vnto them, whiche is onely due to God: And so forth chargyng the sayd spiritual persons to teache their flocke thatMarginaliaNo mediation but by Christ. all grace and remission of sinnes, and saluation, can no otherwise be obteyned, but of God onely, by the mediation of our Sauiour Christe, who is onely a sufficient mediatour for our sinnes: and that all grace and remission of sinne must procede onely by mediation of Christ and no other.

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MarginaliaOf rites and ceremonies. From that, he commeth further to speake of rites and ceremonies in Christes Churche, as in hauyng vestimentes vsed in Gods seruice, sprinklyng of holy water, giuyng of holy bread, bearing of Candles on Candlemas day, takyng of ashes, bearyng of Palmes, crepyng to the Crosse, settyng vp the Sepulcher, hallowyng of the fonte, w^t other like customes, rites, and ceremonies, all which old rites and customes, the foresayd booke doth not by and by repeale, but so farre admitteth them for good and laudable, as they put men in remembraunce of spirituall thynges: but so, that þ^e people withall must be instructed, how the sayd ceremonies conteyne in them no such power, to remitte sinne, but onely that to bee referred vnto God, by whome onely our sinnes be forgiuen vs.

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MarginaliaOf purgatory. And so concludyng with Purgatorye, he maketh an end of those Articles, thus saying therof: that because þ^e boke of Machabes aloweth praying for soules departed, he therfore disproueth not that so laudable a custome, so long continued in the Churche. But because there is no certeine place named, nor kynde of paynes expressed in Scripture, he therfore thinketh necessarie such abuses clearely to bee put away, which vnder the name of Purgatory haue bene aduaunced: as to make men beleue, that by the Byshop of Romes pardons, or by Masses sayd, at Scala cœli  

, or other where, in any place or before any Image, soules might clearly be deliuered out of purgatory, and from the paynes therof to bee sent strayght to heauen, and such other like abuses. &c.

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And these were the contentes of that boke of articles deuised, and passed by the kynges authoritie, a litle before the styrre of Lyncolnshyre and Yorkeshyre  

. Wherin, although there were many and great imperfections and vntrouthes not to be permitted in any true reformed Churche:MarginaliaMilke for new wainlinges. yet notwithstandyng, the kyng and his counsaile to beare with the weakelynges, whiche were newely weyned from their mothers mylke of Rome, thought it might serue somewhat for þ^e time, in stede of a litle beginning, til better might come.

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MarginaliaIniunctions for abrogation certeine holydayes. And so consequently, not long after these Articles thus set forward, certeyne other Iniunctions were also giuen out about the same yeare. 1536. wherby a number of holye daies were abrogated, and especially such as fell in the haruest time: the kepyng of which redounded greatly to þ^e hynderaunce of gatheryng in theyr corne, hay, fruite, and other such lyke necessarie commodities. The copie and tenour of whiche Iniunctions I haue also hereunto annexed, as vnder foloweth.

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MarginaliaIniunctions by the kyng. FOrasmuch  

as the nomber of holy dayes is so excessiuely growen, and yet dayly more and more by mens deuotion yea rather superstition, was lyke further to encrease, that the same was and should be not onely preiudiciall to the cōmon weale, by reason that it is occasion aswell of muche slouth and idlenes, the very nourse of theeues, vagaboundes: and of diuers other vnthriftines and inconueniences, as of decay of good misteries and Artes profitable and necessarie for the common wealth, and losse of mans foode, many times beyng cleane destroyed through þ^e superstitious obseruaūce of the sayd holydayes, in not takyng the oportunitie of good and serene weather, offered vpon the same in tyme of haruest, but also pernicious to the soules of many men. which (beyng entised by the licencious vacation & libertie of those

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