Bull. It appears to have maintained its independence for about 700 years, having no connection with England, and differing Adrian's upon many points from Rome. In 1155, Pope Adrian, by a papal bull, made a present to Henry II. of Ireland, with certain reservations to the Holy See. A council of the Irish clergy was held at Cashel in 1172. The result of this council was the assimilation (i) of the Church of Ireland to that of England, and its subjection to the Roman See. "Among the seven decrees of the Cashel synod, in the articles of union, as they may be called, between the Anglo-Irish church and state, there were four which regulated the revenues of the clergy. It was enacted by one of these, that church lands should be free from the customary exactions of the chieftains, from all demands, whether of money or of entertainment.' • That they should be likewise exempt from certain fines imposed by the Brehon law that all the faithful should pay tithes of their cattle, fruits, and all other increase.' And this was explained a few years after, by a sweeping commentary of the Dublin synod, as including the tithe of provisions, hay, flax, wool, the young of animals, and the produce of gardens and orchards. It was also enacted that all the faithful should pay a third of their moveable goods for a solemn burial, and for vigils and masses for the repose of their souls, and that, if they died unmarried, or without legitimate children, the bequest should be increased to one-half." Reformation. [We pass now to the time of the Reformation, and are met by a circumstance which the present state of Ireland renders scarcely credible, but which is based upon historical proof. Henry VIII., who rejected the title of Lord of Ireland (hitherto the only title allowed by the popes to the kings of England), and assumed the absolute sovereignty over the island, seems to have been supported by the allegiance of the Irish chieftains, not only in his abjuration of the secular but also of the ecclesiastical power of the Church of Rome. The aristocracy of the country expressed themselves in this language: "They, and each of them, do and doth acknowledge the king's majesty aforesaid to be their natural and liege lord; and will honour, obey, and serve him, and the kings his successors, against all creatures of the universe. And they will accept and hold his said majesty, and the kings his successors, as the supreme [4. From the innovations introduced by the Council of Cashel, in A. D. 1172. [5. From the existence of the monastic order of the Culdees, whose rule was invented by Saint Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria; the reviver of this order was Saint Columba, A. D. 522. See Bede's Third Book, passim. -ED.] (i) [Lawrence O'Toole was the first Archbishop of Dublin. It still seems that there were for some time two churches or parties in the church; those who followed the rites, &c. as they existed before the Council of Cashel, and those who adopted the changes introduced by that synod.ED.] head on earth, immediately under Christ, of the Church of England and Ireland, &c. And as far as lieth in their power, jointly and separately, they will annihilate the usurped primacy and authority of the Bishop of Rome, and will expel and eradicate all his favourers, abettors, and partizans, and maintain, support, and defend all persons spiritual and temporal, who shall be promoted to church benefices or dignities by the king's majesty or other rightful patron; and will apprehend and bring to justice, to be tried according to the laws made or to be made in such behalf, all who apply for provision to the Bishop of Rome, or who betake themselves to Rome in quest of promotion (k)." [It seems, too, that an outward conformity at least to the Reformed Church was maintained for some years in the reign of Elizabeth (1). Carte thus alludes to the fact: "In the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, the Roman Catholics, universally throughout England, observed the act of uniformity, and went to the parish churches, where the English liturgy was constantly used. They continued doing so for eleven years. The case was much the same in Ireland, where the bishops complied with the Reformation, and the Roman Catholics in general resorted to the parish churches, in which the English service was used, until the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign." [Barrington, a popish bishop, thus expresses himself: "For some time the great body of the (Roman Catholic) clergy conformed exteriorly to the law. It was afterwards more than once publicly declared by Sir Edward Coke, when attorneygeneral, which the queen herself confirmed in a letter to Sir Francis Walsingham, that for the first two years of her reign, the Roman Catholics, without doubt or scruple, repaired to the parish churches: the assertion is true, if not too generally applied." "I deny not," says Father Parsons, in reply to Coke, but that many throughout the realm, though otherwise Catholics in heart, as most of them were, did at that time, and after, as also now (A. D. 1606), either from fear or lack of better instruction, or both, repair to Protestant churches." It is not within the province of this work to account for the Relapse into subsequent relapse of the church into Romanism; but some of Romanism. the causes may probably be found in the desolating wars of Elizabeth in Ireland, the rebellion of 1641, and the protracted civil contests which were its consequences, the industry and talents of the Jesuits, the revolution of 1688, and the various confiscations and proscriptions which extend from the reign of Henry VIII. (m) to that of William III. Probably, however, (k) [Cox, 272, quoting from the council book at Dublin Castle.] (1) [Carte's Lives of the Dukes of Ormonde.] (m) [The property bestowed upon the regular clergy of the Romish Relapse into Romanism. the principal cause is justly stated by Lord Clare, in his speech on the union: "In the reign of Elizabeth, the reformed liturgy was again enforced, and the English act of uniformity was enacted by the colonial parliament; and-what seems a solecism in the history of legislation--in the body of this act, by which the use of the English liturgy, and a strict conformity to it, are enjoined under severe penalties, a clause is introduced, reciting that English ministers cannot be found to serve in Irish churches; that the Irish people did not understand the English tongue; that the church service cannot be celebrated in Irish, as well for difficulty to get it printed, as that few in the whole realm can read. And what is the remedy? If the ministers of the Gospel cannot speak English, he may celebrate the church service in the Latin tongue, a language certainly as unintelligible to his congregation as the English tongue, and probably not very familiar to the ministers thus authorized to use it (m)." [The letters of Primate Boulter embrace the period which elapsed between 1724 to 1739, during which, from the almost constant absence of the lord lieutenant, he acted as one of the lords justices. Writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury, he says (n), "A great part of our clergy have no parsonage houses, or glebes to build them on; we have many parishes eight and ten, twelve and fourteen miles long, with perhaps only one church in them, and that often at the end of the parish. We have few market towns that supply convenient (m) [An act passed in the 28th year of the reign of Henry VIII. chap. xv. intituled, "An Act for the English Order, Habit, and Language," &c. was the first heavy blow which the infant reformed church received; that act directed that the Irish habit and apparel should be abolished, and the peculiar form in which the Irish wore their hair should be discontinued. It provided further, that spiritual promotions should be given only to such persons as could speak the English language, and none other. And that every archbishop, bishop, &c. at the time of the admission of any person to spiritual promotion, should administer an oath to the person promoted, that he would endeavour "himself to learn, instruct, and teach the English tongue to all under his rule, cure, order, and governance; and further that he should keep, or cause to be kept, within the place, territory, or parish, where he should have rule, benefice, or promotion, a school to learn English," &c. [And again, in an act of uniformity passed by Queen Elizabeth, the preamble runs thus: "And forasmuch as in most places of this realm, there cannot be found English ministers to serve in the churches or places appointed for common prayer, and that if some good means were provided, that they might use the prayers, &c. in such language as they might best understand, the due honour of God should be thereby much advanced; and for that, also, THAT THE SAME MAY NOT BE IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE; we do therefore most humbly beseech your majesty, that it may be enacted by the authority of the present parliament, that in every such church, where the common minister hath not the use of the English tongue, it shall be lawful to say or use all their common and open prayer in the LATIN tongue." Which was accordingly enacted by the statute 2nd of Elizabeth, cap. xiii. anno 1559-60.-ED.] (n) [Page 169.] food, nor farmers that can supply the common necessaries of life, so that all agree that no clergyman can live without a moderate glebe, and as there can be no hopes of getting ground of the papists without more churches and more resident clergymen, we have been framing two bills, &c." "In many parts, by means of impropriations, there are vicarages or curacies worth but 51. or 107. per annum, so that in several places the bishop lets the same person enjoy three or four on to seven or eight of these, which possibly all together make but 60%, 80%., or 1007. per annum, and there is, it may be, but one or two churches on all the denominations, which is the name we give these parishes. [Again, writing to the Duke of Newcastle (o), he repeats, "until we can get more churches and resident clergy, instead of getting ground of the papist, we must lose to them, as in fact we do in many places, the descendants of many of Cromwell's officers and soldiers being gone off to popery." [In 1735 the Irish House of Commons abolished tithe of pasture (p), which, in the then existing state of Ireland, is said to have exempted ninety-six out of every hundred from contributing to the support of the clergy-a blow which they did not recover till the demands of the American war increased to a great extent the agriculture of the country. [II. Since the Union. of England into one Episcopal of the Church remain as now esta [The fifth article of the Act for the Union of Ireland with The Churches Great Britain (7), enacts, "That it be the fifth article of union, and Ireland That the churches of England and Ireland, as now by law to be united established, be united into one protestant episcopal church, to Protestant be called, The United Church of England and Ireland; and Church, and that the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the the Doctrine said united church shall be, and shall remain in full force for of Scotland to ever, as the same are now by law established for the church of England; and that the continuance and preservation of the said united church, as the established church of England and Ireland, shall be deemed and taken to be an essential and fundamental part of the union; and that in like manner the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the church of Scotland shall remain and be preserved as the same are now established by law, and by the acts for the union of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland (r).” [The second clause of the "Act for the Relief of His Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects," passed 13th April, 1829, prescribes a particular form of oath to be taken by all Roman Catholic members of both houses of parliament, a part of (0) [Page 179.] cattle.-ED.] (p) [This was called the agistment vote against tithe of pasture for dry (2) [Passed July 2nd, 1800.] blished. Acts of Par liament affecting the Irish Church. Irish Church ties' Bill. which is, " And I do hereby disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure any intention to subvert the present Church Establishment as settled by Law within this Realm." [See also, under the title Popery, the 24th, 25th and 26th sections of this act, forbidding the titles of Protestant episcopal sees to be assumed by Roman Catholic bishops, and public officers to attend with the insignia of their office at any other place than the Established Church; and imposes a penalty on Roman Catholics officiating except in their usual places of worship (o). [The 3 & 4 of Victoria, cap. 52, appointing His Royal Highness Prince Albert regent of these realms, in the event of the crown descending to any issue of her majesty, whilst such issue shall be under the age of eighteen years, enacts, among other provisions, that his royal highness shall swear that he will maintain inviolably the Established Churches of England, Ireland and Scotland; and also that, in the event of his being reconciled to the Church of Rome, or professing, or marrying a person professing, the Roman Catholic religion, his royal highness shall cease to be regent of these realms (p). In the first year of George II., an act was passed, to enable archbishops, bishops, and other ecclesiastical persons, to grant their patronage or right of presentation to small livings to such persons as shall augment the same. In 1836, an act was passed to amend the foregoing statute, and to encourage the building of chapels of ease in Ireland (g). [In 1812, an act was passed to enable coadjutors to archbishops and bishops in Ireland to execute the powers of archbishops and bishops respectively, for all purposes but that of presenting and collating to benefices, and in all cases except such as concerned royal privileges or prerogatives (r). [On the 21st June, 1824, an act was passed to consolidate and amend the laws for enforcing the residence of spiritual persons on their benefices; to restrain spiritual persons from carrying on trade or merchandize; and for the support and maintenance of stipendiary curates in Ireland (s). [On the 14th August, 1833, an act was passed, effecting a very extensive alteration in the temporalties of the Irish Church (t). This act was subsequently amended by one which passed on the 15th August in the ensuing year (u). [The Church of Ireland was, until the passing of the Irish Church Temporalties' Bill, under the control of four archArchbishops bishops, one for each of the four provinces, and named from and Bishops. the cities of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel, and Tuam, in which (0) [10 Geo. 4, c. 7.] (p) [See this act under Marriage (9) [6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 31.] (s) [See 5 Geo. 4, c. 91: this answers to the English act 1 & 2 Vict., c. 106.] (t) [3 & 4 Will. 4, c. 37.] |