advertise him, that in any wise he presume not to come to Penitential the Lord's Table, until he have openly declared himself to Discipline. have truly repented and amended his former naughty life, that the Congregation may thereby be satisfied, which before were offended; and that he have recompensed the parties, to whom he hath done wrong; or at least declare himself to be in full purpose so to do, as soon as he conveniently may.

The same order shall the Curate use with those betwixt whom he perceiveth malice and hatred to reign; not suffering them to be partakers of the Lord's Table, until he know them to be reconciled. And if one of the parties so at variance be content to forgive from the bottom of his heart all that the other hath trespassed against him, and to make amends for that he himself hath offended; and the other party will not be persuaded to a godly unity, but remain still in his frowardness and malice: the Minister in that case ought to admit the penitent person to the Holy Communion, and not him that is obstinate. Provided that every Minister so repelling any, as is specified in this or the next precedent Paragraph of this Rubrick, shall be obliged to give an account of the same to the Ordinary within fourteen days after at the farthest. And the Ordinary shall proceed against the offending person according to the Canon.' Then also (if occasion be). and Citations and Excommunications read.'—The Communion Service.

1664

'Infant Knight and Mary Watson, being excommunicated, buried in a garden.'-Parish Register of St. Nicholas, Newcastle, Dec. 31, 1664.

c. 1664

'He (R. Sherlock, D.D.) was very spare and slender of body; and it was thought he impaired its strength

Penitential
Discipline.

very much by his frequent fasting and abstinence. However he would not endure to be told thereof; for upon any such suggestion he was ready to reply, "That he did eat and drink too much; and that many, if not most of men (using the proverb) did dig their graves with their teeth.' Upon this account, for that he was so much devoted to austerity of life, and was so strict an observer of the holy time of Lent, and other stated fasts of the Church; for this and the like, the ignorance of some, and that, and ill-will in others, would needs have him tainted with popery.

་

He

'He often forsook his warm bed in the cold season of night, that he might betake himself to his devotions; so that he spent his time in watching, weeping, and praying, when others were at their repose and sleeping. had David's Psalms ad unguem, making responses all by heart evening and morning, as the Church prescribes, he attended public prayers and upon more solemn days of fasting and humiliation, as upon Ash-Wednesday, GoodFriday, &c., after Divine service had been celebrated in the church he would in his private chapel read prayers again, making then use of the Psalms and Lessons, as appointed by the calendar in ordinary course for the day; when those that were proper and peculiar to that day had been read before.

'Whenever the Absolution was pronounced, or the Benediction given, being upon his bended knees, he bared his venerable grey hairs, and lowly bowed his head, as if he would have kissed the ground.

'Very often in private he hath been seen and heard to weep and pray and beat his breast; not only kneeling, but sometimes throwing himself flat upon the earth; lying prostrate on the ground as if he had been licking up the dust; thus profoundly humbling himself even to the lowest.'-Funeral Sermon by the Rev. Thomas Crane, M.A., see The Practical Christian or Devout Penitent, &c. pp. xli-xliii. 12mo. 1841.

1669

*

That the Canon about excommunication be read, Penitential and excommunicates be denounced, according to the said Discipline. Canon.'

• That he cause the Clark to informe the Parson (if the Churchwardens do not) when any excommunicated persons enter the church or churchyard, to which end and purpose there shall be a list kept in the vestry of all persons excommunicated.'-The Remains of Denis Granville, i. 131, 133. Surtees Soc., vol. xxxvii.

*

1680

'Durham, Feb. 12, 1689. I moved the Dean and Chapter to summon Mr. Fran: Blakiston to appear before them, and prevailed with them to consent to his making an acknowledgment in the Cathedrall in time of Divine Service for his notorious and insolent offence in striking Richardson our Porter, and felling him with his staffe in the very midst of the Quire. And did on the 15th to this end and purpose present a form of Pennance to the Dean and Prebends to bee recited after the second lesson at the Letany Desk on some Sunday: the slipping over of which crime would have been a greater offence in the Dean and Prebends than in Mr. Blackston, and which would have been done if God had not stirred mee up personally to have revived the businesse, for successe wherein I blesse God, esteeming it better service to the Church then preaching of twenty sermons. Indeed it should have been carried farther, and hee have been declared excommunicate, and so continued for a considerable time, and after that have done a more publick and solemn pennance, linteis vestimentis, on more Sundaies than one, and if it had been nudo capite et pedibus, it had not been so much as the crime deserved.'-Ibid., ii. 70. Surtees Soc., vol. xlvii.

1687

Discipline.

Penitential 'I admonished the inhabitants of Hulme chapel in the consistory of their riotous shutting up the chapel doors on the 6th February, being Sunday, the king's anniversary day of inauguration; and enjoined them penance for the same, to be performed and certified, against the next court day.'-Bp. Cartwright's Diary, p. 33.

Form of
Penance.

A Form of penance and Reconciliation of a Renegado
or Apostate from the Cbristian Church
to Turcism, etc.

1635

'I. Let the offender's conviction be first judicially had before the bishop of the diocese, so that his detection or confession may stand apud acta, and that thereupon an excommunication be decreed and denounced both in the cathedral and the parish church where he lives; yet so as that upon his submission there in court, he may be absolved in diem, and the form of his penance enjoined him in manner following.

'II. Let the minister of the place have frequent conference with the party in private; lay open and aggravate the heinousness of his sin both in respect of God, the Church, and his own soul; and see whether his conscience be troubled with any other grievous crime, that so he may be the better fitted for absolution of all together.

III. Let there be an order decreed in court, referring him to the minister of the place, to see his penance performed accordingly, and to reconcile him to the Church, and let that order be published in the parish church on a Sunday at morning prayer, next before the Communion

service.

'IV. The next Sunday following, let the offender be

appointed to stand, all the time of Divine service and Form of sermon in the forenoon, in the porch [Order must be taken Penance. that boys and idle people flock not about him] of the church, if it have any, if none, yet without the church door, if extremity of weather hinder not, in a penitent fashion in a white sheet, and with a white wand in his hand, his head uncovered, his countenance dejected, not taking particular notice of any one person that passeth by him; and when the people come in and go out of the church, let him upon his knees humbly crave their prayers, and acknowledge his offence in this form, "Good Christians, remember in your prayers a poor wretched apostate or renegado."

V. The second Sunday let him stand in the church porch, and in his penitential habit as before, and then, after the Te Deum ended, let him be brought in by one of the churchwardens so far as to the west side of the font of the said church; there let him penitently kneel till the second lesson be ended, then let him make his submission, and ask mercy of God in the form following:

“O Lord God of heaven and earth, be merciful unto me most wretched sinner. [This said, let him smite his breast three times.] I confess, O Lord, I have justly deserved to be utterly renounced by thee, because I have yielded to renounce my Saviour, and that holy profession, which I had formerly made of his name, whereby I was received into thy Church. O God, forgive me this heinous and horrible sin, with all other my grievous sins against thee, and let me, upon thy gracious pardon and infinite mercy, be restored to the right and benefit of this blessed Sacrament, which I have so wickedly abjured, and be received (though most unworthy) into thy gracious favour, and the communion of thy faithful people, even for thy great mercy's sake in Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Saviour."

'Which done, let him, in an humble and devout manner, kiss the bottom stone of the font, strike his breast, and presently depart into the church porch as before.