BOOK VI. OF THE DUTIES OF A CLERGYMAN OF CHAPTER I. PUBLIC WORSHIP. Uniformity in divine worship. It is not intended in the present chapter to treat of the laws affecting public worship generally; such as the obligation to attend such worship, and other matters relating to the same subject which are now obsolete: but our observations will be confined to that which is included in the purport of the present book; namely, the law by which the conduct of the minister is on such occasions to be regulated. The law directs that a clergyman is not to diminish in any respect, or to add to, the prescribed form of worship. Uniformity in this respect is one of the leading and distinguishing principles of the Church of England: nothing is left to the discretion and fancy of the individual; for if every minister were to alter, omit, or add according to his own taste, this uniformity would soon be destroyed; and though the alteration might begin with little things, yet it would soon extend itself to more important changes in the public worship of the Established Church; and even in the Scriptures themselves, the most important passages might be materially altered, under the notion of giving a more correct version, or omitted altogether as unauthorised interpolations." It is essential to the nature of every establishment, and necessary for the preservation of the interests of the laity, as well as of the clergy, that the preaching diversity of opinions should not be fed out of the appointments of the a Sir J. Nicholl, in Newberry v. Goodwin, 1 Phill. 283. Established Church, since the Church itself would otherwise be overwhelmed with the variety of opinions which must, in the great mass of human character, arise out of the infirmity of our common nature; nor is this restraint inconsistent with Christian liberty, for to what purpose is it directed, but to ensure in the Established Church that uniformity which tends to edification, leaving individuals to go elsewhere, according to the private persuasions they may entertain; for if any person dissent, a remedy is provided by the mild and wise spirit of toleration which prevails in modern times, and which allows that he should join himself to persons of persuasions similar to his own.b tion. Establishment of the Book of Common Prayer and its contents by statute. This uniformity of public worship, the advantages of Established at which are obvious, appears to have been among the benefits the Reformawhich our Church experienced at the Reformation; for in a statute passed in the second year of Edward VI. it is mentioned that there had been in this realm of England and Wales divers forms of prayer, commonly called the Service of the Church: that is to say, the use of Sarum, of York, of Bangor, and of Lincoln; and after reciting that the Book of Common Prayer, and administration of the Sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the Church, after the use of the Church of England, had been prepared by the Archbishop of Canterbury and certain discreet bishops and learned men, the same statute enacts, that all and singular ministers in any cathedral or parish church, or any place within this realm, shall be bounden to say and use the matins, evensong, celebration of the Lord's Supper, commonly called the mass, and administration of each of the Sacraments, and of the common and open prayer, in such order and form as is mentioned in the same book, and none other or otherwise. The statute here spoken of is the first act passed for the establishing uniformity of public worship; and by another act passed in the same reign, some alterations appear to have been made in this book, and a form and manner of making and consecrating of archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons, was added, and declared to be of like force, authority and value, as the book intituled the Book of Common Prayer was before. This liturgy, having been abolished by Queen Mary, was again established by an act passed in the first year of Queen In reign of EliElizabeth, which enacts, that all ministers in any cathedral zabeth. or parish church, or other place, shall be bound to say and use the matins, evensong, celebration of the Lord's Supper, b Sir J. Nicholl, in Newberry v. Goodwin, 1 Phill. 283. c Cap. 1. d 5 Edw. 6, c. 1. Establishment of the Book of Common Prayer and its contents by the canon law. Hampton Court conferences. Final establishment of uni formity of divine worship in reign of Charles II. and administration of each of the Sacraments, and all the common and open prayer, in such order and form as is mentioned in the book authorised by the parliament in the 5 & 6 Edward VI. with certain trifling alterations or additions not important to be here observed upon. At the close of the reign of Elizabeth were passed the canons of 1603, by the 36th of which it is declared that no person shall be received into the ministry, nor admitted to any ecclesiastical living, nor suffered to preach or catechize, or be a lecturer or reader of divinity in any place, except he shall first subscribe (amongst others) to this article following, that the Book of Common Prayer, and of ordering of bishops, priests and deacons, containeth in it nothing contrary to the Word of God, and that it may be lawfully used, and that he himself will use the form in the said book prescribed in public prayer and administration of the Sacraments, and none other. The next epoch to which we come in the history of the establishment of our liturgy, is the conference at Hampton Court before James I., in the first year of his reign; and by virtue of the directions given by him to the archbishop and other commissioners to review the Common Prayer Book, several material alterations and enlargements of it were made; but these were not then confirmed by act of parliament. The last, and consequently the most important act by which the uniformity of public worship is established, is that passed in the 13th and 14th years of Charles II., which, after reciting, that for settling the peace of the Church, the king had granted his commission under the great seal to several bishops and other divines to review the Book of Common Prayer, and to prepare such alterations and additions as they thought fit to offer; and that afterwards, the convocation of both the provinces being called, his majesty had been pleased to authorise and require them to review the Book of Common Prayer, and the Book of the Form and Manner of making and consecrating Bishops, Priests and Deacons; since which time they had accordingly reviewed the said books, and had made some alterations in the same, which they thought fit to be inserted, and some additional prayers, and had exhibited and presented the same to his majesty in writing, in one book, intituled the Book of Common Prayer, and administration of the Sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of the Church of England; together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be said or sung in churches; and the form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating of Bishops, And it is by the same statute further enacted, that all and singular the ministers in any cathedral, collegiate, or parish church or chapel, or other place of public worship, shall be bound to say and use the morning prayer, evening prayer, celebration and administration of both the Sacraments, and all other the public and common prayers, in such order and form as is mentioned in the said book intituled as aforesaid, and annexed and joined to this present act; and that the morning and evening prayers therein contained shall upon every Lord's day, and upon all other days and occasions, and at the times therein appointed, be openly and solemnly read by all and every minister or curate in every church, chapel, or other place of public worship as aforesaid. the Common It will be seen, therefore, from these statutes, that independently of any ecclesiastical or canon law, or of any direction of the ordinary which might be binding on the ministers, the Book of Common Prayer, in such order and form as mentioned in the said book, according to the directions of the rubric, is incorporated into and made a part of the statute law of this kingdom; and for the breach thereof the statute law also affixes heavy penalties; for if Punishment for any parson, vicar, or other whatsoever minister that ought refusing to read to sing or say common prayer, or minister the Sacraments, Prayer, &c., acrefuse to do so in such order and form as set forth in the cording to the Book of Common Prayer, or shall wilfully and obstinately prescribed form. use any other rite, ceremony, form, &c., in celebrating the Lord's Supper, or other open prayer; or shall preach or speak anything in the derogation of the said book, or any thing therein contained, and be thereof convicted, either by verdict of twelve men or by his own confession, or by notorious evidence of the fact, he shall forfeit (if the prosecution is upon 2 & 3 Edw. VI.), for his first offence, the Q Q To what cases the above sta tutes are appli cable. Jurisdiction of justices of the peace. profit of such one of his spiritual benefices as it shall please the king to appoint, and also be imprisoned six months; and for the second offence be imprisoned for a year, and be deprived of all his spiritual promotions; and for the third offence be imprisoned for life. If the prosecution be made under the 1 Eliz. c. 2, then for the first offence he shall forfeit to the king the profit of all his spiritual promotions for one year, and be imprisoned six months for the second offence, as by 2 &3 Edw. VI.; for the third offence, be deprived of all his spiritual promotions, and be imprisoned for life; and if he have no spiritual promotions, then for the first offence imprisonment for a year, for the second, imprisonment for life. Upon these statutes a clergyman was indicted at the quarter sessions in Devonshire in the year 1685 for using alias preces in the church, and alio modo than mentioned in the Book of Common Prayer; and the indictment concluded contra formam statuti, &c. He was found guilty; and fined 100 marks. Upon writ of error, it was admitted, that offences against these statutes might be inquired of by the justices; but the indictment was held bad; for that it ought to have alleged that the defendant used other forms and prayers instead of those enjoined, which were neglected by him; for that otherwise any person might be indicted, who used prayers before his sermon other than such as are required by the Book of Common Prayer. Although this decision established that justices had jurisdiction in such cases, and that indictments, properly framed for offences against these statutes, might be inquired of by them, yet it is probable that indictments of this nature have been very rarely if ever preferred; for the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical court was in no way taken away by those statutes. And wherever it may have been necessary to institute any penal proceedings against clergymen for the omission of, or addition to, any thing contained in the Book of Common Prayer, the proceeding has probably been always in the ecclesiastical court. And, indeed, prosecutions in the temporal courts upon those statutes Of judges at the seem to have been discouraged by the judges; for in a case at the Thetford Lent assizes in 1795 a clerk was indicted upon these statutes; but the evidence was not that he left out or added any prayers, or altered the form of worship, but that he did not read prayers twice on a Sunday, but assizes. e R. v. Sparkes, 3 Mod. R. 79. But the reason here given appears unsatisfactory; and it certainly must not be taken to mean that a clergyman might with impunity use any prayer before his sermon, at his discretion, and which was not to be found in the Book of Common Prayer. 3 Burn's E. L. 257. |