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<DATE>2013-07-25</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<VID>191720</VID>
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<P>CERTAINE AD|VERTISEMENTS AND Articles, giuen by the Wor&s;hip|full Ma&s;ter <HI>Robert Iohn&s;on</HI> Arch|deacon of Leice&s;ter.</P>
<P>In the Vi&s;itation holden for the &s;aid Archdeaconrie, at the fea&s;t of the Annunciation of our ble&s;&s;ed Ladie the Virgine MARIE in the yeare of our Lord God 1613. and of the Reigne of our mo&s;t gracious Lord King IAMES, by the grace of God of Eng|land, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &amp;c. the eleuenth, and of Scotland the for|tie fiue.</P>
<P>LONDON Printed for <HI>Ambro&s;e Garbrand.</HI> 1613.</P>
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<HEAD>The v&s;e of the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Vi&s;itations.</HEAD>
<P>ORdinarie Vi&s;itations Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall by what authoritie &s;oe|uer executed, were originally in&s;tituted and ordained for the honour of God, the good of his Church, and the pre&s;eruation of the people of God in vnitie of true Religion, and in holine&s;&s;e of life and conuer&s;ation, and that the Churches Parochiall &amp; other foun|ded and erected for diuine wor&s;hip, might by Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Ma|gi&s;trates and Church-gouernours in their di&s;tinct callings be furni|&s;hed with reuerent and di&s;creet Mini&s;ters, godly and learned Prea|chers, faithfully to teach and in&s;truct the people in the truth of Gods word, &s;incerely to admini&s;ter the Sacraments, and to doe and per|forme all other offices of the holy Church, by name Matrimonie, vi&s;iting the &s;icke, buriall of the Dead, thanke&s;giuing of Women after childbirth, and &s;uch like, according to the po&s;itiue Lawes and Ordinances of Chri&s;tian Kings and Princes, Gods Vicegerents on the earth, without any Antichri&s;tian corruption, Schi&s;maticall innouation of addition of their owne. And further that in due exe|cution, or &s;uch Vi&s;itations, the enemies of Gods truth, the Papall, Schi&s;maticall, Anabapti&s;ticall, prophane or other, might be refor|med or expul&s;ed Gods Church: All idle and di&s;&s;olute Mini&s;ters (being in&s;ufficient and a &s;candall to their calling) remoued and di&s;|placed, and men or better &s;ort, &s;obrietie and worthine&s;&s;e, placed in their &s;tead: and that the people who are many times carele&s;&s;e and negligent to be in&s;tructed, &amp; oft &s;educed to follow innouation and &s;trange wor&s;hip, might be reduced from their errours and &s;u|per&s;tition, eyther by godly exhortation and per&s;wa&s;ion, or other|wi&s;e by the cen&s;ures of the Church. This diuine and verie nece&s;|&s;arie inqui&s;ition by the prouidence of God and in wi&s;edome of for|mer times grauely ordained being duly executed by the Magi|&s;trate, Mini&s;ter, Churchwardens, &amp; &s;uch other as are tru&s;ted in this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, would doubtle&s;&s;e God a&s;&s;i&s;ting ea&s;ily purge the Church of many inconueniences, and bring the people to better obedi|ence, and more due acknowledgement of the benefits be&s;towed vpon them, in placing ouer them &s;o renowned, &s;acred and religious a Prince, and in giuing vnto them by his &s;ole wi&s;edome and autho|ritie vnder God, libertie to &s;erue God, and to liue at home in peace.</P>
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<HEAD>&para; An Aduerti&s;ement.</HEAD>
<P>_THanke&s;giuing for benefits and graces recei|ued, and daily inuocation of Gods holy name for the continuance of his ble&s;&s;ings towards vs, and for the protection and de|fence of this Church, Prince, and People, from the rage, oppre&s;&s;ion, and violence of Satan and his members, as it is particular|ly commanded in many places in holy writ, &s;o it is warranted vnto vs by all examples of the Prophets and Patriarches in all ages, &amp; therefore &s;ince we haue as good cau&s;e as euer nation had to pro&s;trate our &s;elues before the Maie&s;tie of the Almightie for the infinite ble&s;&s;ings brought vpon vs, in placing ouer vs &s;o re|ligious, &s;acred and godly a Prince, as no Chronicle can euer mention, neither any Kingdome or people euer had: let vs ther|fore &s;eriou&s;ly, yea let vs &s;incerely euen from the bottoms of our hearts acknowledge with all thank&s;giuing the good receiued, which we ought euen of our owne accord to do: yet much more when we are commanded by publike authoritie. And therefore for as much as we are by certaine &s;tatutes, proclamations, let|ters, and ordinances required, enioyned and commanded, to celebrate the day of his Maie&s;ties Coronation, and of his won|derfull deliuerance from that bloody con&s;piracy of that family of the <HI>Gowries,</HI> as al&s;o from that mo&s;t horrible, trecherous and vn|&s;peakable action of that Antichri&s;tian, helli&s;h &amp; mo&s;t damnable plot and practi&s;e lately intended, not again&s;t the per&s;on of his Maie&s;tie onely, but to the quite extirpation &amp; &s;ubuer&s;ion of his royall i&s;&s;ue, Religion, and the whole &s;tate of this Kingdome: it behooueth euery Mini&s;ter &amp; all Church-officers, be they Church-wardens or other, as they tender their dutie to God, their alle|geance to their Prince, &amp; their obedience to the lawes e&s;tabli|&s;hed, to prouide that in their &s;euerall Pari&s;hes and Cures, all &s;olemnitie be had of the day of his Maie&s;ties Coronation, and all publike prayer be v&s;ed according to the pre&s;cript forme &s;et forth by authoritie as well the fift of Augu&s;t, as vpon the fift of Nouember, and that a particular note be giuen by the Mini&s;ter
<PB REF="6"> and Churchwarde~s of al &s;uch as &s;hall refu&s;e to come to Church tho&s;e daies: and for their better admonition it is required that the Mini&s;ter doe make knowne vnto the people vpon the prece|dent Sunday the &s;euerall daies as they &s;hall happen to fall.</P>
<P N="1"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Church recu|&s;ants enemies to Gods truth, to be pre&s;en|ted.</NOTE>1 Church-Recu&s;ants, as it is a name heretofore &s;eldome or neuer heard of, &s;o are they in the condition and practi&s;e of their life, knowne enemies of Gods truth, &s;uch as hate to heare the word, or partake the Sacraments, and liue in open contradic|tion and oppo&s;ition again&s;t the lawes of God, and again&s;t the lawes of their Chri&s;tian Prince and Common-welth. The&s;e per&s;ons being iu&s;tly reputed very dangerous &s;ubiects and of|fen&s;iue members in the Church, are by the Mini&s;ter &amp; Church|wardens with all care and diligence to be enquired after, and pre&s;ented by their knowne names &amp; &s;urnames, with addition of their titles, and with declaration of what power and &s;uffici|encie they are, and what office they beare in the Church and Common-wealth, which pre&s;entment &s;o made is to be &s;ub&s;cri|bed and deliuered vnder the hand of the Mini&s;ter, Churchwar|dens and Sworne men.</P>
<P N="2"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Admoni&s;h|ment to be gi|uen &s;uch as re|fu&s;e the Sacra|ment, and af|ter vpon refu|&s;all to be pre|&s;ented.</NOTE>2 Where &s;undrie per&s;ons who haue b&eacute;ene h&eacute;eretofore Re|cu&s;ants, doe now of their owne accord frequent the Church, though not &s;o v&s;ually as others, &amp; yet refu&s;e to heare the word preached, or to receiue the Sacrament of the Lords Supper the better thereby to confirme them, and to giue te&s;timonie vnto others by tho&s;e their outward actions of that their inward zeal, deuotion and conformity, it behoueth the Mini&s;ter and Church|wardens in like &s;ort, fir&s;t by godly admonition to per&s;wade the &s;aid per&s;ons if &s;o they can, to receiue, or otherwi&s;e to pre&s;ent all &s;uch as &s;hal ob&s;tinately refu&s;e, being of the age of &s;ixt&eacute;ene years and aboue, lea&s;t their &s;ufferance and permi&s;&s;ion of them be|come an offence vnto the godly, and giue others cau&s;e by their example to back&s;lide.</P>
<P N="3"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Wiues, Chil|dren, and Fa|milies of re|formed Recu|&s;ants not com|municating ought to be pre&s;ented.</NOTE>3 Though &s;undrie Recu&s;ants haue of late conformed them|&s;elues, and doe now come to the Church to heare diuine praier, and to receiue the Sacraments, as by the lawes of God, and of this Realme they are commanded: yet the wiues, children, and family of many of tho&s;e reformed Recu&s;ants doe notwith&s;tan|ding &s;till continue ob&s;tinate, and will not be drawne eyther by the example of the hu&s;band, parent, or ma&s;ter, nor by any other godly per&s;wa&s;ion or conference to doe and performe what to
<PB REF="6"> them &amp; euery of them in a Chri&s;tian dutie to God &amp; the Prince belongeth. For reformation whereof the Mini&s;ter, Churchwar|dens, and Sworn-men are to take a true note and particular of euery &s;uch per&s;on in tho&s;e families as &s;hall refu&s;e to come to Church, or to receiue the Sacraments, being of lawfull age and hauing no iu&s;t impediment, &s;hall accordingly pre&s;ent them.</P>
<P N="4">4 The infection of Recu&s;ancy being the very fruit and badge of Antichri&s;tian irreligon, hath b&eacute;ene a &s;urfet &s;o long and dange|rous in this Kingdome, as by the daily increa&s;e of &s;uch as affect tho&s;e dregs of Popery, the di&s;ea&s;e and contagion &s;&eacute;emeth in it &s;elfe incurable, and the rather for that the &s;euerall hou&s;es of Recu&s;ants here infected for the better &s;trengthning of that cau&s;e as is &s;uppo&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marriages of Recu&s;ants and their children not publikely &s;olemnized, to be pre&s;ented.</NOTE> doe v&s;ually couple and ioyne them&s;elues in Ma|trimonie together, and &s;o are growne by that vnion and coniun|ction to a great &s;trength and kindred; now for as much as the&s;e marriages are mo&s;t times in priuate hou&s;es celebrated without any publike licence or banes a&s;king: and the Children likewi&s;e begotten betwixt &s;uch per&s;ons are &s;eldome or not at all in pub|like baptized: It is thought fit and very conuenient, that the Mi|ni&s;ter and Churchwardens of euery Pari&s;h doe very carefully informe them&s;elues of all &s;uch marriages &s;o &s;uppo&s;ed to be had and of all &s;uch Children &s;o baptized, that the &s;euerall per&s;ons herein Culpable may be pre&s;ented, and compelled to prooue by lawfull te&s;timony their &s;euerall marriages, that their Children are baptized according to the Ordinances of the Church now e|&s;tabli&s;hed, or otherwi&s;e to endure &s;uch puni&s;hment and penalty as by the lawes Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall of this Realme in &s;uch ca&s;e is re|ligiou&s;ly prouided: the law it &s;elf requiring a due and perfect re|gi&s;ter continually to bee kept by the Mini&s;ter and Churchwar|dens, of all marriages and Chri&s;tenings had within the Pari&s;h, and to be yearely &s;ent into the Bi&s;hops Regi&s;ter there to be re|corded.</P>
<P N="5">5 Now for the auoyding of the future euill which may hap|pen in &s;uch ca&s;e, it is required that the Churchwardens and &s;worn-men of euery Pari&s;h doe inquire and informe them|&s;elues what Mini&s;ters other then ehe Parochiall Mini&s;ter doth v&s;ually celebrate diuine &s;eruice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Strange Mini|&s;ters and Scholema&s;ters frequenting the hou&s;es of Recu&s;ants to be pre&s;ented.</NOTE> admini&s;ter the Sacraments and performe other Church Offices, in tho&s;e priuate Families, and whether the &s;aid per&s;on &s;o executing &s;uch offices b&eacute;e a Mini|&s;ter licen&s;ed, and haue &s;ub&s;cribed to the Articles of Religion,
<PB REF="7"> and if not to pre&s;ent him; &amp; further what &s;choolema&s;ters the &s;aid families being noted for Recu&s;ancy haue to teach their Childre~, and what licen&s;e the &s;aid &s;choolema~&s;ters haue &s;o to doe, for that many tran&s;formed Ie&s;uites, and Seminaries, vnder the name and colour of &s;choolema&s;ters, doe v&s;ually frequent &s;uch places, and in the Cloake and couert thereof doe exerci&s;e al their &s;uper|&s;titious &s;eruice and Idolatrous practi&s;es.</P>
<P N="6">6 For as much as &s;ome prete~d &amp; haue informed (as it &s;&eacute;emeth) the Kings mo&s;t excellent Maie&s;tie and the Honorable Lords &amp; other of his Highnes priuy Councel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">All excommu|nicate Recu|&s;ants vpon Oath for con|formitie to be ab&s;olued.</NOTE> that &s;undry Recu&s;ants be|ing exco~municate per&s;ons would willingly come to the Church &amp; receiue the Sacrame~t in ca&s;e they might obtaine their ab&s;olu|tion from the &s;ente~ce of excommunication inflicted, it is thought fit &amp; hereby required that the Mini&s;ters of euery Pari&s;h, Chap|pel, or Hamlet, within this Dioces doe forthwith, or &s;o &s;oone as with conueniency they may, giue publike notice in the Church or otherwi&s;e to the per&s;ons the~&s;elues or at their man&s;ion hou&s;es, that if they will come to the Ordinary who did excommunicate them, or being not able to come will procure commi&s;&s;ion to bee granted for their better ea&s;e to their particular Mini&s;ter, and take oath for their after-conformitie, they &s;hall bee ab&s;olued without f&eacute;e: &s;o as they haue commited no other offence which doth de&s;erue &s;ome publike reformation or &s;ati&s;faction to the con|gregation.</P>
<P N="7">7 La&s;tly for as much as Schi&s;me and deui&s;ion in Religion and in the Ceremonies of the Church hath &amp; doth much di&s;turbe the peaceable gouernment of the &s;ame,<NOTE PLACE="marg">One vniforme order of Com|mon prayer, &amp;c. wherein default is to be pre&s;ented.</NOTE> and doth likewi&s;e giue great occa&s;ion to the profe&s;&s;ed enemies of Gods truth thereby to withdraw the people and &s;uch as are weake from the Religion, doctrine &amp; di&s;cipline of the Church now e&s;tabli&s;hed, for that we are not (as they pretend vnto them) at vnitie within our &s;elues, it is very nece&s;&s;ary and behouefull, that &s;ithence it hath plea&s;ed the Kings mo&s;t excellent Maie&s;tie by his late Canons exempli|fied vnder the broad &s;eale of England, to decr&eacute;e and &s;et downe that one vniforme order in the execution of diuine &s;eruice and in y^e admini&s;tration of the Sacraments, of apparel, as of Church ornaments and Ceremonies, &s;hould be v&s;ed by the Cleargie of this Kingdome, as well in the publike execution of tho&s;e their particular offices as in other their outward conuer&s;ation and behauiour, that the &s;ame be accordingly v&s;ed and prouided, or
<PB REF="7"> el&s;e that the Church wardens doe pre&s;ent whether the fault bee in the Mini&s;ter who will not weare the &s;ame, or in the Pari&s;hio|ners who will not prouide tho&s;e ornaments nece&s;&s;ary and com|maunded.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="articles">
<HEAD>Articles to be enquired of within the Archdeaconrie of Leicester.</HEAD>
<P><HI>INprimis;</HI> whether the Church of your Pari&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Double bene|fices.</NOTE> bee now va|cant and de&s;titute of an Incumbent, how long it hath &s;o re|mayned, whether any &s;eque&s;tration be granted of y^e fruits, to whom, and by whom? If it haue an Incumbent, what his name is, of what bringing vp and degr&eacute;e in Schooles? what the valure of the liuing is in the Kings Bookes: who is the Patron by right or aduou&s;on: whether hee hath any more benefices or Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall promotions: how many, and where: If hee lie not on his Benefice, to whom hee letteth his tithes, for what yearely commoditie the ordinary charges deducted: Whether the Curate be orderly and lawfully admitted vpon due triall &amp; examination of his &s;ufficiency and hone&s;ty vnder the &s;eale of of|fice.</P>
<P N="2">2 Whether Common Prayer be di&s;tinctly and audibly read within the Pari&s;h Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Church-books.</NOTE> the Sacraments reuerently and orderly admini&s;tred, &amp; whether for better performance of them, you haue a booke of Common prayer, two P&s;alters, the En|gli&s;h Bible, the Homilies, the Paraphra&s;es of <HI>Era&s;mus</HI> in En|gli&s;h, the Table of the ten Commandements, a comely Table &s;tanding vpon a frame for the holy Communion decently coue|red, and a conuenient Communion cup, with a couer agr&eacute;eable, and a &s;&eacute;emely and decent Pulpit.</P>
<P N="3">3 Whether your Par&s;on, Vicar, or Curate,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Monethly Ser|mons.</NOTE> be a painefull zealous, and diligent Preacher: at the lea&s;t whether he doth procure quarterly or Monthly Sermons, according as by du|tie he is bound, e&s;pecially vpon &s;uch daies as the holy Commu|nion &s;hall be mini&s;tred, for the better in&s;truction and prepara|tion towards that occa&s;ion? and whether he doth duly and or|derly Catechize euery Sunday with expo&s;ition of the &s;ame, for the better in&s;truction of the youth of the Pari&s;h, and Chri&s;tian
<PB REF="8"> information of other the hearers, and whether &s;uch as are to be Chatechized, attend orderly at the time to be in&s;tructed, or who they be that make default, or &s;hew them&s;elues ob&s;tinate there|in. And whether your Mini&s;ter doe carefully repaire to vi&s;ite the &s;icke of your Pari&s;h, for their &s;pirituall comfort, and wil|lingly attend his charge in tho&s;e extremities. And further whe|ther hee doth conferre with his Pari&s;honers, e&s;pecially &s;uch as he knoweth not throughly grounded in the way and knowledge of their &s;aluation, for their better in&s;truction, before they repaire to the holy Communion. And if any refu&s;e this nece&s;&s;arie con|ference offered by the Mini&s;ter, not onely to &s;tay them from re|ceiuing, but al&s;o pre&s;ent what be their names, with their cau|&s;es pretended?</P>
<P N="4">4 Whether your Mini&s;ter doth admit any to the Commu|nion or to bee married, or to an&s;were for Infants in Bapti&s;me, being not &s;ufficiently Catechized and able to y&eacute;eld an account of their Chri&s;tian faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Infants to contracts.</NOTE> that whom con&s;cience will not allure al|mo&s;t once to thinke &s;eriou&s;ly of the meanes of their &s;aluation, yet other extraordinarie occa&s;ions may driue for &s;hame to &s;ome knowledge of Chri&s;tianitie?</P>
<P N="5">5 Whether your Mini&s;ter or any other of your Pari&s;h b&eacute;e knowne or &s;u&s;pected as fauourers of the Romi&s;h Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ie&s;uites.</NOTE> &s;upe|rioritie, or Religion. And whether any runnagate Ie&s;uites or counterfeit Ma&s;&s;ing Prie&s;ts, going out according to the order of their profe&s;&s;ions, are knowne or &s;u&s;pected to frequent or hau~t to any per&s;on or per&s;ons within your Pari&s;h, or &s;ometime for a &s;hift to lie or lurke with them: and whether they or any Schoole|ma&s;ter, or any other pretending the name of a &s;eruant, are &s;u&s;|pected to allure and per&s;wade any within your Pari&s;h from the true &s;inceritie of the Go&s;pell, now by publike authoritie e&s;tabli|&s;hed, to the v&s;ing of Mattins, Beads, and &s;uch other vaine Po|pi&s;h tri&s;htra&s;h: or of any vnlawfull Popi&s;h books: And whether any be reputed or &s;u&s;pected to bee reaccounted to the Church of Rome within your Pari&s;h, and what be their names? And whe|ther you know or haue heard of any &s;ometime in orders, that now doe liue as lay men?</P>
<P N="6">6 Whether any of your Pari&s;h doe altogether ab&s;ent them|&s;elues from Diuine Seruice, or doe &s;eldome or negligently come to the Church, or doe not continue there without di&s;tur|bance of the Mini&s;ter and congregation, not departing thence
<PB REF="8"> but vpon &s;ome iu&s;t and lawfull cau&s;e: And whether any of your Pari&s;honers do not receiue the Communion, at the lea&s;t thrice in the yeare according to his Maie&s;ties Lawes e&s;tabli|&s;hed, and whether any hauing diuers hou&s;es of remoue, do &s;hift from place to place, in colour to defeat the performance of their Chri&s;tian duties in tho&s;e behalfes, what they be, and the names of euery of the family that doth the like. And whether the par|ticular twelue pence be leuied according to the &s;tatute?</P>
<P N="7">7 Whether any within your Pari&s;h haue any of their kin|red or kin&s;folke beyond the Seas, what be their names, and how long they haue continued out of the Realme, and what by here&s;ay, or in con&s;cience you iudge their affection to be in Re|ligion: or whether any are knowne or &s;u&s;pected to relieue any &s;uch.</P>
<P N="8">8 Whether your Mini&s;ter k&eacute;epe any &s;u&s;pected woman in his hou&s;e, or be giuen to drunkenne&s;&s;e, idlene&s;&s;e, or be a hun|ter of Tauernes, Ale-hou&s;es, or other &s;u&s;pected places, or be Hunters, Hawkers, Dicers, Carders, Tablers, Swearers, or any waies giue any euill example of life or vn&s;&eacute;emely ap|parrell, to the offence of others, and di&s;credit of their calling. And whether they be reported or &s;u&s;pected to haue come by their benefice, or other Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall promotions, Simonical|ly, directly or indirectly.</P>
<P N="9">9 Whether there belong any glebe Lands to your Par&s;o|nage, or Vicarage, and how many &s;euerall parcels there bee, and how much they containe by e&s;timation, whether any be alienated, exchanged or incroched vpon, to the decay of the liuing? And whether your Chancell, and Par&s;onage hou&s;es, be in good and &s;ufficient reparations, and whether your Church be in euery part &s;o maintained as were conuenient. And whether your Church yards be throughly fenced about, and cleanly kept, and who is the cau&s;e of any of the&s;e defaults. And whether any Patrons haue decayed the Par&s;onage-hou|&s;es, and kept a &s;tipendarie Prie&s;t in place, where an Incum|bent &s;hould be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed?</P>
<P N="10">10 Whether your Mini&s;ter k&eacute;epe well your Regi&s;ters of all Weddings, Burials, and Chri&s;tnings within your Pari&s;h ac|cording to his Maie&s;ties lawes e&s;tabli&s;hed, and doe pre&s;ent a copie of them once euery yeare by Indenture to the Chancellor or his Deputie, to remaine of record in the principall Office.</P>
<P N="11"><PB REF="9">11 Whether any within your Pari&s;h admini&s;ter the goods of tho&s;e that be dead, without lawfull authoritie: or any are &s;u&s;pected to haue &s;uppre&s;&s;ed or altered the la&s;t wil of the dead, or any Executors that haue not fulfilled the te&s;tators wil, e&s;pecial|ly in performing of the Legacies giuen to other good v&s;es or maintenance of the poore.</P>
<P N="12">12 Whether you haue a Schoolema&s;ter within your Pari&s;h, and whether your Schoolema&s;ter teaching publikely or priuate|ly, be of good and &s;incere Religion and conuer&s;ation, and whe|ther they be examined and allowed by the Ordinary or his Of|ficer, according to the late Canons in that behalfe. And whe|ther any liuing giuen towards the erection or maintenance of any Schoole, bee with holden backe, or otherwi&s;e any wayes imployed.</P>
<P N="13">13 Whether any haue pulled downe or di&s;couered any Church, Chauncell, or Chappell, Porch, Ve&s;try, St&eacute;eple, Bells, or any part of them, or felled Wood or Timber in the Church|yard. And whether your Ho&s;pitals, or Spittels, be well and godly v&s;ed and maintained according to the foundation and ancient Ordinances of the &s;ame?</P>
<P N="14">14 Whether any entertainment be giuen, or gaming v&s;ed in any Innes or Alehou&s;es, or other Victualers in time of Diuine Seruice or Sermons. Or whether any Butchers, Victua|lers, Pedlers, or other Artificers in time of common Prayer or Sermon, open their &s;hops or wares: and whether your Mi|ni&s;ter cu&s;tomably remembreth your Church-Wardens and Swornemen, to attend their charge in &s;uch behalfe?</P>
<P N="15">15 Whether your Church goods, Stocks, or Rents, be let to the be&s;t commoditie, and for &s;uch v&s;es as they were fir&s;t meant, or now are to be imployed, and conuerted, &amp; no other waies. Or whether the &s;ame be increa&s;ed or decayed, by what meanes, who being Church-Wardens, whether any are be|hinde with making their accounts, or be thought not to haue made the true perfect and &s;ufficient account, what Lands or Stockes &s;hould be, or yet remaine?</P>
<P N="16">16 Whether any within your Pari&s;h, be &s;u&s;pected to v&s;e &s;orcerie, wichcraft, charmes, vnlawfull prayers, or innouati|ons in Latine or Engli&s;h: namely, Midwiues in the time of Womens trauaile with child, and who re&s;ort to &s;uch for helpe or Coun&s;ell?</P>
<P N="17"><PB REF="9">17 Whether the Mini&s;ter or Church-wardens haue &s;uffe|red any Lords of mi&s;-rule, or Summer Lords, or Ladies or a|ny di&s;gui&s;ed per&s;ons, as Morris dancers, to come vnreuerently piping, dancing or playing in the Church or Church-yard, with vn&s;&eacute;emely &s;coffes, ie&s;ts, or ribauldrie, in time of Diuine &s;eruice or Sermons, and what they b&eacute;e that commit &s;uch di&s;orders, and the company that maintained them?</P>
<P N="18">18 Whether any of your Pari&s;h haue beene married within the degr&eacute;es of affinitie, and con&s;anguinitie, forbidden by the Lawes of God: and whether for the better knowledge and di|rection of tho&s;e degr&eacute;es, you haue the table of degr&eacute;es publikely affixed in your Pari&s;h Church: and whether any diuorced or &s;eparated for marrying within tho&s;e degr&eacute;es be notwith&s;ta~ding conuer&s;ant, and k&eacute;epe companie together: whether any man bee &s;u&s;pected to haue two wiues, or any woman two hu&s;bands, or any married without banes thrice &s;olemnly a&s;ked, or out of the Pari&s;h, where one of them at lea&s;t doe inhabit: and whether any married, liue a part, and not continue together, according to the Lawes of God, and this Realme.</P>
<P N="19">19 Whether any of your Pari&s;h be knowne, defamed or ve|hemently &s;u&s;pected of any notorious &s;inne, fault or crime, as of v&s;ury, &s;wearing adultery, fornication, ince&s;t, baudery, drunken|nes, ribauldry, &s;lander, contention, &s;owing of di&s;cord betw&eacute;ene neighbours, priuie receiuing women vnlawfully begotten with child, or &s;uffering them to depart before publike &s;ati&s;faction made to the congregation. Or whether there bee any fighters, quarrellers, brawlers, or chiders in Church or Churchyard, any &s;coffers, rimers, or derides of Mini&s;ters, or any that lay violent hande on them or any of them, or otherwi&s;e abu&s;e them.</P>
<P N="20">20 All and euery the particulars of the premi&s;&s;es you are di|ligently to enquire of and as well the Mini&s;ters &s;euerally as the Church-wardens and Sidemen ioyntly to pre&s;ent the defaults of euery of them in writing &s;ub&s;cribed by their names: and ge|nerally what&s;oeuer breaches and offences el&s;e they &s;hall know or heare committed, again&s;t any of the Kings Maie&s;ties Iniun|ctions, or any Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Lawes of this Realme?</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="oath">
<PB REF="10" MS="y">
<HEAD>The Oath of the Church-wardens.</HEAD>
<P>_YOV &s;hall faithfully admini&s;ter all &s;uch Church-goods as are or &s;hal come to your hands to the v&s;e of your Church, and ther|of make a true and faithfull account at the end of your Office, deliuering all that re|maineth therupon to your next &s;ucce&s;&s;ors. Al&s;o you &s;hall diligently enquire of, and faithfully pre&s;ent all &s;uch per&s;ons, as you &s;hall either vpon your owne know|ledge, or by publike fame vnder&s;tand to be guiltie of any of|fence or fault mentioned in any of the&s;e Articles afore&s;aid, or any other fault which is to be puni&s;hed by the lawes Ec|cle&s;ia&s;ticall of this Realme, wherein you &s;hall not pre&s;ent any per&s;on for malice, hatred or euill will, nor &s;pare any for fauour, feare, or any corrupt affection, but you &s;hall faith|fully di&s;charge your con&s;ciences, as men hauing the feare of God before your eyes, and &s;eeking the reformation of his Church, So God helpe you in Chri&s;t our Sauiour.</P>
<PB REF="10">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
