Marginalia1555. Maye.fayth and Religion, or in any part therof.

3. Itē, that thou hast not beleued, nor doest beleue, that that fayth and Religion: whiche both MarginaliaThe Church of Rome, Italy, Spayne, and other forrayne countryes in Europe.the Churche of Rome, Italy, Spayn, England, Fraunce, Ireland, Scotland, and all other Churches in Europe, beyng true members and partes of the sayd Catholicke & vniuersal Church do beleue and teach, is both agreyng with the sayd Catholycke & vniuersall Churche, and the fayth and Religion, of Christ, and also is the very true fayth & Religion, which all Christen people ought to beleue, obserue folow and kepe, but contrariwise thou hast beleued, and doest beleue, that that faith and Religion, which the sayd Church of Rome, and all the other Churches aforesayd haue heretofore beleued, and do nowe beleue, is false, erroneous and nought, and in no wise ought to be beleued, obserued, kept, and followed of any Christian man.

4. Item, that albeit it bee true, that in the Sacrament of the alter there is in substaunce the very body and bloud of Christ vnder the formes of bread and wyne, and albeit that it be so beleued, taught & preached vndoubtedly in the sayd Churche of Rome, and all the other Churches aforesayd,MarginaliaSubstance of Christes body vnder formes of bread and wyne. yet thou hast not so beleued, nor doest so beleue but cōtrarywise thou hast and doest beleue firmely and stedfastly, that there is not in the sayd Sacrament of the alter, vnder the sayd formes of bread and wyne, the very substaunce of Christes body and bloud, but that there is onely the substaunce of materiall and common bread and wyne, with the formes therof: and that the sayd materiall and cōmon bread and wyne are onely the signes and tokens of Christes body and bloud, and by fayth to be receiued, onely for a remembraunce of Christes passion and death, without any such substaunce of Christes body and bloud at all.

MarginaliaTransubstantiation denyed.5. Item, that thou hast beleued and taught, and thou hast openly spoken, and to thy power mainteyned and defended, and so doest beleue, thinke, maintayne, and defend, that the very true receiuyng and eatyng of Christes body & bloud, is onely to take materiall and common bread, and to breake it, and to distribute it amongest the people, remembryng therby the passion and death of Christ onely.

MarginaliaThe Masse abominable.6. Item, that thou hast likewise beleued, taught, and spoken, that the Masse now vsed in this Realme of England, and others the Churches aforesayd, is abominable & nought and full of Idolatrye, and is of the ordinaunce of þ^e Pope, and not of the institution of Christ, & hath no goodnes in it, sauyng the gloria in excelsis and the Epistle and the Gospell, and that therfore thou hast not, nor wilt not come and bee present at the Masse, nor receiue the Sacrament of the aultar, or any other Sacrament of the Church as they are now vsed in this realme of England, and other the Churches aforesayd.

7. Item, that thou hast in tymes past beleued precisely, and obstinatly affirmed and sayd, and so doest now beleue & thinke that auricular confession is not nedefull to bee made vnto the Priest, but it is a thyng superfluous and vayne, and ought onely to be made to God and to none other persō: and lykewise thou hast condemned as superfluous, vayne, and vnprofitable, all the ceremonies of the Church, and the seruice of the same, and hast sayd that no seruice in þ^e church ought to bee sayd, but in the Englishe toung, and if it be otherwise sayd, it is vnlawfull and naught.

¶ The aunsweres of Iohn Symson and also of Iohn Ardeley, to the foresayd Articles.  

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The articles and answers of Ardley and Simpson were taken from an official record of Bonner's which is now lost, probably a court book. Note that in the second edition Foxe conflated the two sets of identical articles and nearly identical answers.

MarginaliaTheir aunsweres to the Articles.TO the firste, they beleeue, that here in earth there is one Catholique and vniuersal holy Churche, whiche dooth holde and beleue as is conteyned in the first article, and that this Church is dispersed and scattered abroade throughout the whole world.

To the seconde, they beleue, that they be bound to geue fayth and credence vnto it, as is conteyned in the seconde Article.

To the third, as concernyng the fayth and Religion of the Churche of Rome, of Italie, Spayne, Fraunce, Ireland, Scotland, and other Churches in Europa, they saye, they haue nothing to do with that fayth and Religion, but as concernyng the faith and Religion of Englande, that if the said Churche of England be ruled and gouerned by the word of lyfe, then the Church of England hath the fayth and Religion of the Catholike Church, and not otherwise: and do say also, that if the Church of Englande were ruled by the word of lyfe, it would not goe about to condemne thē and others of this heresie.

To the fourth they answeare, that in the Sacrament, commonly called the sacrament of the aultar, there is verye bread and verye wyne, not altered nor chaunged in substaunce in any wise,MarginaliaTransubstantiation denyed. and that he that receyueth the sayde bread and wyne, doth spiritually and by fayth onely receiue

the body and bloud of Christ, but not the very natural body and bloud of Christ in substance vnder the formes of bread and wyne.

To the fift they say, they haue aunsweared, aunswearing to the saide fourth article, and yet neuerthelesse they say that they haue beleued, and do beleue, that in the sacrament of the aultar there is not the very substance of Christes body & bloud, but onely the substaunce of natural bread and wyne.

MarginaliaThe Masse detested.To the sixt they say, that they beleue, that the Masse is of the Pope, and not of Christ, and therefore it is not good, nor hauyng in it any goodnes, sauyng the Gloria in excelsis, the Epistle and Gospel, the Creede, and the Pater noster: and for this cause they say, they haue not, nor will not come and heare Masse.

To the seuenth, Iohn Ardeley answereth, and saith, that he beleeueth the contentes of the same to be true: but Iohn Symson doth answere, that hee is not as yet fully resolued with hym selfe what answere to make therunto, and further saith, that as touchng the common and dayly seruice said & vsed in the Church, he saith, that he neuer said that seruice in the Church ought to be said but in the Englishe tongue, nor yet he neuer said, that if it be otherwise said and vsed then in English, it is vnlawful and naught.

Iohn Ardeley, and Iohn Symson.

MarginaliaAn other appearance of Symson and Iohn Ardeley before the Byshop.Thus these articles being to them obiected, and their answeares made vnto the same, as before, the Bishop according to the olde trade of his Consistorie Court, respited them to the after noone, bidding them to make their appearaunce the saide day and place, betweene the houres of two and three. At what tyme the said Bishop repeatyng againe the saide articles vnto them, and beginnyng with Iohn Ardeley did vrge and solicitate, according to his maner of wordes, to recant.  

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The account of the condemnation of Ardley and Simpson appears to be taken from a now lost official record, probably a court book.

To whom Iohn Ardeley againe constantly standing to his professed Religion, gaue answeare in woordes, as foloweth: MarginaliaThe words of Ioh. Ardeley to Boner.My Lorde (quoth he) neither you, nor any other of your Religion, is of the Catholique Church, for you be of a false fayth: and I doubt not but you shall be deceyued at length, beare as good a face as ye can. You wyl shedde the innocent bloud, and you haue killed many, & yet goe about to kyll more. &c.

And added further, saying: If euery heare of my head were a man, I would suffer death in the opinion and fayth that I am nowe in. These with many other woordes he spake. Then the Bishop yet demaunding if he would relinquish his erroneous opinions (as he called them) and be reduced againe to the vnitie of the Church, he answered as foloweth: No, God foreshield that I should do so: for then I should loose my soule.

After this, the sayd Bishop asking Iohn Ardeley (after his formall maner) if he knewe any cause why hee should not haue sentence condemnatorie againste hym, MarginaliaIohn Ardley and Iohn Symson condemned.so readde the condemnation, as he also did against Iohn Simson, standyng likewise in the same cause and constancie with Iohn Ardeley: which was done the. xxv. day of May, and so were they both committed to the secular power, that is, to the handes of the Sheriffes,  

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The authority to determine heresy rested with the bishops but they did not have the authority to inflict the death penalty. The condemned heretic had to be surrendered to the sheriffs who would execute the sentence.

MarginaliaA note of the sodayne feare of Boner.At the tyme of the examination of this Symson and Iohn Ardeley aforesaid, there was assembled suche a great multitude of people, that because the Consistorie was not able to holde them, they were fayne to stand in the Church, neare about the saide Consistorie, waityng to see the prisoners, when they should depart. It happened in the meane tyme that the Bishop beyng set in heate with the stout and bold answeres of the said two prisoners (especially of Iohn Symson) burst out in his loud and angry voyce, and saide: haue hym away, haue hym away.

Now the people in the Churche hearing these wordes, and thinkyng (because the daye was farre spent) that the prisoners had their iudgement, they being desirous to see the prisoners had to Newgate, seuered them selues, one running one way, an other an other way, whiche caused such a noyse in the Church, that they in the Cōsistorie wer all amased, and marueiled what it should meane: wherefore the Bishop also being somewhat afrayd of this sodayne styrre,MarginaliaThe ridiculous feare of Boner and his Doctours. asketh what there was to do. The standers by answering sayde, that there was like to be some tumult, for they were together by the eares.

When the bishop heard this, by and by his hart was in