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Faversham

[Feuersham]

Kent

OS grid ref: TR 015 615

knowledging to him onely all your vicious liuing, praying to him euer deuoutly of charitable counsel and contynuance. Hoping without dout, that if ye cōtinue thus, busying you faythfully to know & to kepe his biddings, that he wil (for he onely, may) forgeue you al your sinnes. And this man said to me. Though God forgeue men their sins yet it behoueth men to be assoyled of priests, & to do þ^e penance that they enioyne them. Marginalia Auricular confession,

And I sayde to him, Sir, it is all one to assoyle men of their sinnes, & to forgeue mē their sinnes: Wherefore, since it pertayneth only to God to forgeue sinne: Marginalia God onely forgeueth sinne, man onely can coūsell to leaue sinne. It sufficeth in this case, to counsel men & women for to leaue their sinne, and to conform them that busy them thus to do, for to hope stedfastly in the mercy of God. And agayneward, Priestes ought to tel sharply to customable sinners, that if they wil not make an ende of their sinne, but cōtinue in diuers sins while that they may sinne, all such deserue payne without any end. And herefore, Priests should euer busye them to liue wel and holyly, and to teach the people busily & truly the worde of God, shewyng to all folke in open preaching and in priuy counseling, that the lord God only forgeueth sinne. And therefore, those priests þ^t take vpō thē to assoyle mē of their sinnes, blaspheme God: since that it perteineth onely to the Lord, to assoile men of all their sinnes. For no doubt, a thousand yeare after þ^t Christ was man, no Priest of Christ durst take vpon him to teach the people, neither priuily nor apertly, that they behoued nedes to come to be assoyled of them, as Priests now do. But by authoritie of Christes word: Priests bounde indurate customable synners, to euerlasting paines, which in no time of their lyuing, would busy thē faithfully to knowe the biddinges of God, nor to kepe thē. And again, al they that would occupy al their wits to hate & to flye al occasion of sinne, dreading ouer al thing, to offend God, and louing for to please him continually: to these men & women Priests shewed, how the Lord assoyleth them of all their sinnes. And thus Christ promised to confirme in heauen, al the binding and loosing that priests by authoritie of his word, binde men in sinne that are indurate therin, or loose thē out of sinne here vpon earth, that are verely repentaunt. And this mā hearing these words said, that he might well in conscience cōsent to this sentence. But he sayd. Is it not nedefull to the lay people þ^t can not thus do, Marginalia Shrift & cōfessiō to priestes. to go shriue them to priests? And I said, If a man feele himselfe so distroubled with any sinne, þ^t he can not by his own witte auoide this synne without counsel of them that are herein wiser than he. In such a case, the counsell of a good Priest is full necessarye. Marginalia A good secular man may be counseller, where a priest faileth by S. Augustine. And if a good priest fayle as they do now cōmonly, in such a case S. Augustine sayth, that a man may lawfully common and take counsel, of a vertuous secular mā. But certain, that mā or womā is ouerladen and too beastly, which cannot bring their owne sinnes into their minde, busying them night and day for to hate & to forsake al their sinnes, doing a sigh for them after their cunning and power. And sir, full accordingly to this sentence vpō Midlentō Sūday (two yeare as I gesse now agone) I hard a Monk of Feuersam that men called Morden, Marginalia Morden Monke of Feuersam preaching of cōfession. preache at Caūterbury at the crosse within Christ Church Abbey, saying thus of cōfession. That as through the suggestiō of the feend without counsell of any other body, of themselues many men & women, can imagine and find meanes & ways inough to come to pride, to theft, to lechery, and other diuers vices: In contrary wise this Monke said. Since the Lord God is more ready to forgiue sinne than the feend is or may be of power, to moue any body to sinne: Marginalia Harty repētāce to God, needeth no confession to a priest. than whosoeuer wil shame and sorow hartely for their sinnes, knowledging them faithfully to God, amending them after their power and cunning, without counsell of any other body than of God and himselfe (through the grace of God) all such men and women may find, sufficient meanes to come to Gods mercy, and so to be cleane assoiled of all their sinnes. This sentence I sayd sir to this man of yours, and the selfe words as neere as I can gesse.

¶ And the Archbishop said. Holy Church approoueth not this learning. Marginalia No nor nothing that is good.

☞ And I said. Sir, holy Church of which Christ is head in heauen and in earth, must needs approue this sentence. For loe, hereby all men & women may, if they will, be sufficiently taught to know & to keepe the commandements of God, & to hate & to flie continually all occasion of sinne, and to loue and to seeke vertues busily, & to beleue in God stably, and to trust in his mercy stedfastly, & so to come to perfect charitie & continue therin perseuerantly. And more the Lord asketh not of any man here now in this life. Marginalia Christ geueth freedome, the pope geueth thraldome. And certaine, since Iesu Christ died vpon the crosse, wilfully to make men free: Men of the Church are to bold and to busie, to make men thrall, binding thē vnder þ^e paine of end-les curse (as they say) to do many obseruaunces and ordynaunces, which neither the liuing nor teachyng of Chryst nor of his Apostles approueth.

And a Clerke said thē to me: Thou shewest plainly here thy deceit, which thou hast learned of them that trauell to sow popple amōg þ^e wheat. But I coūsel thee to go away cleane frō this learning, & submit thee lowly to my lorde, and thou shalt finde him yet to be gracious to thee.

¶ And as fast then, an other Clerke said to me: How wast thou so bold at Paules Crosse in London, to stande there hard with thy tippet boundē about thine head, and to reproue in his Sermon the worthy clerke Alkerton, drawing away al that thou mightest: yea, & the same day at afternoone, thou meeting the worthy Doctour in Watlyng streete, calledst him flase flatterer and hipocrite.

☞ And I said: Sir, I thinke certainely that there was no man nor womā that hated verelye sinne, & loued vertues (hearing þ^e Sermō of the clerk at Oxford, and also Alkertons Sermon) but they sayd, or might iustly say, that Alkerton reproued that clerke vntruely, and slaundered him wrongfully and vncharitably. For no doubt, If the liuing & teaching of Christ chiefly and of his Apostles be true, no body that loueth God and his law, wil blame any sentēce that the clerke then preached there: since by authoritie of Gods word, & by approued Saints & Doctours, & by opē reason, this Clerke approued all thinges clearely that hee preached there.

¶ And a Clerke of the Archbishops saide to me, his Sermon was false, and that he sheweth openlye, since he dare not stand forth and defend his preaching that he thē preached there.

☞ And I saide: Sir, I thinke that he purposeth to stande stedfastly thereby, or els he scaundereth fouly himself, and also many other that haue great trust that he will stand by the truth of the Gospel. For I wote wel, this Sermon is writen both in Latin and English, and many men haue it & they set great price thereby. And sir, If ye were present with þ^e Archbishop at Lambeth when this Clarke appeared and was at his aunswere before the Archbishoppe, ye wote wel that this Clerke denied not there is Sermon, but two daies he maintained it before the Archbishop and his Clerkes.

And then the Archbishop or one of his Clerkes said (I wote not which of them) that harlot shalbe met wyth, for that Sermon. For no man but he and thou, and such other false harlots, prayseth any such preaching.

¶ And then Arbhb. said. Your cursed sect is busie, and it ioyeth right greatly to contrary & to destroy þ^e priuilege and fredome of holy Church.

¶ And I said: Sir, I know no men that trauell so busily as this sect doth (which you reproue) to make rest and peace in holy church. For pride, couetousnes, and simony, which distrouble most holy Church: this sect hateth & fleeth, and trauayleth busilye to moue all other men in like maner, vnto meekenes and wilfull pouerty, and charitie, and free ministring of the Sacraments: this sect loueth & vseth, and is full busie to moue all other folkes thus to do. Marginalia The true freedome of holy church not destroyed bur increased by true preachers. For these vertues, owe all mēbers of holy church, to their head Christ.

Then a Clerke said to the Archbishop: Sir, it is farre dayes, and ye haue farre to ride to night: therfore make an end with him, for he wil none make. But the more sir, that ye busy you for to draw him toward you, þ^e more cōtumax he is made, and the farther fro you.

¶ And then Malueren said to me: William, kneele down, and pray my Lord of grace, & leaue al thy phantasies, and become a child of holy church. Marginalia Take my Lords blessing & stand vp.

☞ And I said: Sir, I haue prayed the Archbishop oft, and yet I pray him for the loue of Christ, that he wil leaue hys indignation that he hath against me: and that he wil suffer me after my cūning & power, for to do mine office of priesthode, as I am charged of god to do it. For I couet nought els, but to serue my God to hys pleasing in þ^e state that I stand in, and haue taken me to.

¶ And þ^e Archbishop said to mee: If of good hart thou wilt submit thee now here meekely, to be ruled from this time forth by my counsel, obeying mekely and wilfully to mine ordinance, thou shalt finde it most profitable & best to thee for to doe thus. Marginalia My Lord hath hast, for being benighted. Therefore tary thou me no lenger, graunt to do this þ^t I haue sayd to thee now here shortly, or denie it vtterly.

☞ And I said to the Archbishop: Sir, owe we to beleeue that Iesu Christ was and is, very God and very man?

¶ And the Archbishop sayd Yea.

☞ And I said: Sir, owe we to beleue that al Christes lyuing and his teaching is true in euery point?

¶ And he sayd, yea.