with God, but if conuersion come, he will forgeue. So we read in the Prophet Ionas cap. 3. MarginaliaIonas. cap. 3. Who can tell? God may turne and repent, and cease from his fierce wrath that we perish not. And to the like effect sayth the same Lord in Ieremy. cap 26 MarginaliaIerem. 26.Looke thou keepe not one word backe, if peraduenture they will harken and turne euery man from his wicked way, that I also may repent of of the plague which I haue determined to bring vpon them, because of their wicked inuentiōs. &c. For the further proofe wherof Niniuy we see couerted, and remayned vndestroyd. &c. Likewise, the Lorde also had reuealed destruction vnto Constantinople by sundry signes and tokens, as Augustine in a certayne Sermon doeth declare. And thus for the thrid part or member of my deuision.

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MarginaliaThe fourth part or member of the subdiuision. Fourthly and lastly remayneth to declare, some wholesome concluding now vpon the causes preceding: That is, if by these causes and signes (heretofore declared) tribulation be prepared to fall vpon the Church, then let vs humble our mindes mildely and wisely. And if we so returne with hart and in deed vnto God, verely he shall rescue and helpe after an inestimable wise: and will surcease from scourging vs, as he promiseth by his Prophet Ieremy. 18. MarginaliaIeremy. 18. If that people agaynst whom I haue thus deuised, cōuert from their wickednesse, immediately I will repent of the plague that I deuised to bring vpon them: speaking here after the maner of men &c. Now therefore, for so much as tribulation and affliction is so neare comming toward vs, yea lyeth vpon vs alreadye, let vs be the more diligent to call vpon God for mercy. For I thinke verely these many yeares there hath not hene so many and so despightfull hartes and euill willers, stout, and of such a rebellious hart against the Church of God, as be now adayes: neither be they lacking that would worke all that the can agaynst it, and louers of new fanglenes: whose hartes the Lord happelye will turne that they shall not hate his people and worke deceipte agaynst his seruauntes, I meane agavnst Priestes whom they haue now in little or no reputation at all: Albeit many yet there bee through Gods grace, good and Godly. But yet the furye of the Lord is not turned away, but still his hand is stretched out. MarginaliaEsay. 5.And vnlesse ye be conuerted, he shaketh his sworde, he hath bent his bowe, and prepared it readye. Yet the Lorde standeth wayting, that he may haue mercy vpon you Esay. 30. MarginaliaEsay. 30.And therefore as the greatnesse of feare ought to incite vs, so hope of saluation may allure vs to pray and call vpon the Lord, especially now toward this holy and sacrat time and solemnity of Christes natiuity: For that holy and continuall prayer without intermission is profitable and the instant deuotion and vigilant deprecation of the iust man, is of great force. And if terreine kinges in the day of celebration of their natiuity, be wont to shew themselnes more liberall and bounteous; how much more ought we to hope wel, that the heauenly king of nature most benigne, now at his natall and byrth day, will not denye pardon and remission to such as rightly call vnto him.

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And now therefore as it is written in Iosue chap. 7. MarginaliaIosue. 7. Be you sanctified agaynst to morow &c. And saw vnto him as it is written in the first booke of Kinges chap. 25. Marginalia1. Reg. 25.Now let thy seruaunts I pray thee finde fauour in thy sight; for we come to thee in a good season. Moreouer ye may finde that ye aske, if that ye aske that which he brought in the day of his Natiuity; that is, the peace of the Church, not spirituall onely but also temporall, which the angelicall noyse did sounde, and experience the same time dyd proue, testifyed by T Liuius, Plinius, and other heathen story wri- writers, which all maruelled thereat saying: that such an vniuersal peace as that could not come on earth but by the gift of God. For so God did forepromise in the Prophet Esay. chap. 66. MarginaliaEsay. 66.Behold I will let peace into Ierusalem like a waterfloud. &c. MarginaliaPsal. 71.And in the Psalme. 71. In his time righteousnesse shal florish, yea and aboundance of peace. &c.

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Therefore now (O reuerend fathers in the Lord,) & you here in this present assembly, behold I say the day of life and saluatiō: Now is the oportune time to pray vnto god, that the same thing which he brought into the world at his byrth, he will graunt in these dayes to his Church that is, his peace. And like as Niniuye was subuerted ouerturned, and not in members but in maners: so the same wordes of my theame, Iuxta est iustitia mea vt reueletur, may be verified in vs, not of the primitiue iustice, but of our sanctification by grace, so that: As to morow is celebrated the natiuity of our Sauiour, our righteousnesse may rise together with him, and his blessing may be vpon vs, which God hath promised, saying: My sauing health is neare at hand to come. &c. Whereof speaketh Esay the Prophet, chapte. 51. MarginaliaEsay. 51. My sauing health shall endure foreuer. &c. This health graunt vnto vs the Father, Sonne and holy Ghost. Amen.

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This Sermō was made by maister Nicholas Orem before Pope Vrbane and his Cardinals vpon the euē of the Natiuity of the Lord, being the fourth Sonday of Aduent, in the yeare of our Lord, 1364. and the second of hys Popedome.

MarginaliaThe order of Iesuites. In the 5. yere of this forenamed Pope Vrbane, began  

first the order of the Iesuites   . And vnto this time whichewas about the yeare of our Lord, 1367. MarginaliaAnno. 1367. The chiefe offices of the realme translated from the clergie, to the Lordes temporal.  

Commentary     Close

Foxe is drawing this from the Parliament Rolls. See Rotuli Parliamentorum, ed. J. Strachey et al., 6 vols (London, 1783), II, p. 337.

the offices here in England, as the Lord Chauncellor, Lord Treasurer, & of the priuy seale: were wont to be in the handes of the clergy. But about this yeare through the motion of the Lords in the Parliamēt, and partly (as witnesseth mine author) for hatred of the clergy: all the sayd offices were remoued from the clergy, to the Lordes temporall.

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MarginaliaPope Gregory. xj. After the death  

of Pope Vrbane, next succeeded Pope Gregory the 11. who among his other actes, first reduced agayne the papacy out of Fraunce vnto Rome, which had from thence bene absent, the space now of 70. yeres, being therto moued (as Sabellicus recordeth) by the answere of a certain bishop, whom as the Pope saw standing by him asked, why he was so long from his charge and church at home, saying: not to be the part of a good Pastor, to keepe him from his blocke so long. Wherunto the Bishop aunswering agayne, sayd: And you yourselfe being the chiefe Bishoppe, who may and ought to be a spectacle to vs all: why are you from the place so long where your Church doth lye? MarginaliaAnno. 1370. The papacy reduced againe from Fraunce to Rome.By the occasion whereof, the Pope sought all meanes after that to remoue and to rid his Court out of Fraunce againe to Rome, and so he did.  

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This 11. Gregory in a certayne Bull of his sent to the Archb. of Prage, maketh mētion of one named Militzius a Bohemiā, & saight in þ^e smae bull þ^e this Militzius should hold apinion & teach. an. 1366. that Antechrist was already come. Also that the said Militzius had certayn cōgregations folowing him: & that in the same congragation were certain harlots, who being conuerted frō theyr wickednes were brought to a godly life. Which harlots being so conuerted, he vsed to say were to be preferred before al the holy religious virgins. MarginaliaMilitzius a Bohemian, for the truth persecuted by the popeAnd therfore commaunded the archbishop to excōmunicate and persecute the sayd Militzius, which in foretime had bene a religious man of Prage, and after forsook his order, and gaue himselfe to preaching, and at length was by the foresayd Archb. imprisoned.

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MarginaliaEx Bulla Gregorij. 11. Iacobus Misnensis a learned man and a writer in þ^e time of I. Hus, maketh mention of this Militzius, and calleth him a worthy and a famous Preacher. Also citeth many things out of his writings: MarginaliaThe cōming of Antichrist prophesied.In the which writinges thys good Militzius thus declareth of himself how he was moued & vrged by the holy Ghost to search out by the sacred Scriptures, concerning the comming of Antechrist. And that he was compelled b the same holy spirite at Rome publickly to preach, and also before the Inquisitor there to protest plainly, that þ^e same great Antechrist which is prophesyed of in þ^e holy Scriptures, was already come. Moreouer, his saying was, that the church through negligēce of the pastors was desolate, did abound in temporall riches, but in spirituall riches to be empty. Also that in þ^e Church of Christ, where certayne Idols which destroyd Ierusalē, and defaced the Temple, but hypocrisye caused that those Idols could not be sene. Also that many there were which denied Christ, because that knowing the truth, yet for feare of mē they durst not confesse their conscience. &cAnd thus much of good Militzius, liuing in the time of Gregory 11. and king Edward the third. an. 1370.

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MarginaliaK. Edward cōplaineth of the popes reseruation of benefices. The which king of England holding a Parliamēt in the 3. yeare of this Pope, sent his Embassadours to hym, desiring him: that he from thenceforth would abstayne frō his reseruatiōs of benefices vsed in the court of England. And that spiritual men within his realme promoted vnto Bishopricks, might freely enioy theyr electiōs within the realme, and be confirmed by theyr Metropolitanes, according to the auncient custome of the realme. Wherfore, vpō these and such other like wherein the king and the realme thought thēselues greued, he desired of the Pope some remedy to be prouided. &c. Wherunto the Pope returned acertayne answere agayne vnto the king, requiring by his messengers to be certified agayn of the kings mind cōcerning the same. But what answere it was, it is not in þ^e story expressed, saue that the yere folowing, which was 1374. there was a tractation at Burges vpon certain of the said articles betwene the king & the Pope, which did hāg two yeares in suspēse, so at length it was thus agreen betwene them: MarginaliaThe Pope put from his reseruing of benefices in England.that the pope should no more vse his reseruatiōs of benefices in England, and likewise the kinge shoulde no more cōferre and geue benefices vpon the writ, Quare impedit. &c. MarginaliaQuare impedit. But as touching the freedome of elections to be confirmed by the Metropolitane, mentioned in the yeare before, therof was nothing touched.

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As touching these reseruations, prouisiōs, and collations, with the elections of Archbishops, Bishops, beneficed men and other, wherwith the Pope vexed this realme of England, as before you haue heard. The king by þ^e consent of the Lordes and commons, in the 25. yeare of hys raigne enacted: that according to a statute made in the 30.

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