Directions of the places where they live and where there are either Bp. Turner. poor widows, who may well afford to be at prayers for those whose pensioners they are, or where there are children taught by a schoolmaster or mistress, there it is very hard if some little daily congregation might not be found, would but the minister attempt and labour it with as much application and zeal as the thing itself mightily deserves. Nay, better the minister with or without his parish clerk, and with but some of his own family, that he may say, "When two or three are gathered together in Thy name," than not to begin this worthy design of prayers twice a-day in your churches: but where that cannot be for the distance of your houses, there to have them without fail in your private families. 'But on holyday eves and holydays, on all Litany days, and all the fasts of the Church; in the time of Advent and Lent, Ember weeks and Rogation days, I live in good hopes and great expectation, you will by degrees gain such ground upon them, that you will bring so many to church as shall make up a numerous congregation. 'I must also insist, and enjoin you to insist from this time forward, upon that rubrick for bringing children to publick baptism in your church; which, as it will keep up the solemnity and secure the decent performance of the thing, so the Office itself being excellent will very much edify the people. And in case of the child's sickness or extraordinary weakness, though you yield to christen it at home with the Office for Private Baptism, yet you are by no means to do it with godfathers and godmothers, except in the church: but when it gathers strength, then you are strictly to require that it be brought to church, and its baptism published there according to our rubricks and Offices; which if parents refuse to observe, you are to refuse entering their children's names into the church register, and to see such parents proceeded against in the spiritual court. 'I do also recommend it to your effectual care and pains to procure the due execution of that wise and useful rubrick (however disused), that so many as intend to be partakers of Directions of the Holy Communion shall signify their name to the curate, at Bp. Turner. least some time the day before; through the inobservance of which rule, some excommunicated persons, or that richly deserve to be so, and some that have cut themselves off from the Church, may surprise you, and be admitted. And as I hope you will never fail on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, in the afternoon, before the Communion day, to have prayers in your church, so methinks I ought not in charity to doubt, but all such as intend to be communicants will at least at some of those times (if they cannot at all of them) be present at the prayers, and then and there may they give in their names most conveniently in the church, where, to their inexpressible advantage, they may be discoursed separately without shaming any grown persons who still may need some instruction, or exposing any one that requires either counsel or comfort; in either of which cases the Church of England invites and enjoins their coming to the minister of their own parish, or some other godly minister, for ghostly advice.. '. . . I will ordain none but such as shall, a full month before the day of ordination, bring or send to me, or my register, notice in writing of their desire to enter into holy Orders, together with a certificate of their age, and such testimonials of their conversation as aforesaid, to the end that I may inquire into all particulars, and also give publick notice and monitions to all persons to except against such as they may perhaps know not to be worthy, as is expressly required in the Canon 1564. Moreover I shall ordain none but such as shall repair to the place of ordination, at latest upon Thursday in Ember week; to the end that there may be time for the strict and careful examination of every person, not only by myself and my chaplains, but also by the dean and archdeacon, who are by the Canon required to assist; as also that the persons to be ordained. may be present in the cathedral, and observe the solemn fast, and join in the solemn prayers which are at that time to be put up to God in their behalf.'-Pastoral Letter of Francis Turner, Bp. of Ely, preparatory to his Visitation. 1692 Directions of The very first thing in the Book of Common Prayer Bp. Patrick. deserves to be seriously considered; where you are enjoined to say daily the Morning and Evening Prayer, either privately or openly, etc. It is possible, I am sure, to observe one part of this injunction if you cannot observe the other. That is, if you cannot procure a congregation to meet daily in the church; yet you may, and therefore ought, to read the Service of the Church in your own families, either privately or openly, not being hindered by sickness or some other urgent cause, which cannot happen every day. . . . Particularly press them [the churchwardens] earnestly, and assist them to present to me all those who profess to live in the communion of our Church, and are of age, and yet neglect to receive the Holy Communion; at least three times in the year, as by law they are bound to do. For such people not only wrong their own soul, as the wise man speaks, but bring a great scandal upon our Church and religion. For what other Christians are there in the world, who suffer their members to live without any solemn regard to their blessed Lord and Master who died for them, as all those do, who never commemorate his wonderful love by receiving the Holy Sacrament of his Body and Blood. For the Lord's sake let this gross neglect be amended. And let me prevail with you to put in practice the first rubrick before the Communion Office; which directs all those who intend to partake of the Holy Communion, to signify their names to the curate at least some time the day before: that he may both know what quantity of bread and wine is necessary to be provided for the communicants; and also discourse with those young persons who may need instruction, and admonish those who are notorious and open evil livers, or have any way injured their neighbours (as the next rubrick directs), to abstain from the Lord's Directions of Table, till they have openly declared their sincere purpose Bp. Patrick. of amendment, and made satisfaction for the wrong they It is so great a sin and shame to let those buildings which our pious ancestors erected for the service of God and for our commodious habitation run to decay, that I must desire you likewise to inform me truly, whether both the church and chancel of your parish, and also all your houses and outhouses, be in good repair. It makes my heart ache, I assure you, to think that any of us should so far degenerate from our worthy progenitors, as not to uphold those fabricks in a good condition, which they raised from the ground with great cost and charges. Let us all endeavour to redeem ourselves from this infamy.' Pastoral Letter of Symon Patrick, Bp. of Ely. Reconciliation of St. Werburgh's, Bristol 1624 'An extraordinary circumstance connected with the Reconciliation history of this church, that has hitherto escaped notice, of Churches. has been communicated to me by Mr. Tyson, in an extract from Adams' Chronicle, a manuscript work in his possession. "The 11th of June, 1624, in the morning, one Owen Charles polluted S. Warberowe's church, in Bristol, for which offence the church-doors were kept fast until the 11th of July following, on which day it was, by Dr. Wright, Bishop of Bristol, reconciled and purged with great solemnity."-Cursory Observations on the Churches of Bristol, pp. 236, 237, 2nd edit. 8vo. 1843. Reconciliation Reconciliation of Lichfield Cathedral 1669 This rare building was finished in eight years, to the of Churches. admiration of all the country, the same hands which laid the foundation laying the top stone also; all which owes itself to his great fidelity, incredible prudence in contriving, bargaining with workmen, unspeakable diligence in soliciting for money, paying it and overseeing all: Nehemiah's eye was ever upon the building of the temple, and therefore the work proceeded with incredible expedition. The cathedral being so well finished, upon Christmas-eve, anno 1669, his lordship dedicated it to Christ's honour and service, with all fitting solemnity that he could pick out of ancient rituals in the manner following. 'His lordship, being arrayed in his episcopal habiliments, and attended upon by several prebends and officers of the church, and also accompanied with many knights and gentlemen, as likewise with the bailiffs and aldermen of the city of Lichfield, with a great multitude of other people, entered at the west door of the church, Humphry Persehouse, Gent., his lordship's apparitor general going foremost, after whom followed the singing-boys and choristers, and all others belonging to the choir of the said church, who first marched up to the south aisle on the right hand of the said church, where my lord bishop with a loud voice repeated the first verse of the 24th psalm, and afterwards the quire alternately sung the whole psalm to the organ. Then in the same order they marched to the north aisle of the said church, where the bishop in like manner began the first verse of the 100th psalm, which was afterwards also sung out by the company. Then all marched to the upper part of the body of the church, where the bishop in like manner began the 102nd psalm, |