¶Iniunctions for the clerge. Exhibite Die mensis Anno dn̄i. M. CCCCC. xxxviii. In the name of God Amen.
By the authorite and commission of the mooste excellent Prince Henry by the grace of god kynge of Engeland, and of Fraunce defensor of the fayth, lorde of Ireland, & in erth supreme heed vnder chryst of the church of England. I Thomas lord Crumwell, lorde priui sease, vicegerent vnto the kynges sayde hyghnes, for all his iurisdiction ecclesiasticall wythin this realme, do for the auaūcement of the true honour of almyghty god, encrease of vertu, and discharge of the kynges maiestye, gyue and exhybite vnto you [...] these Iniunctions folowyng to be kept / obserued and fulfylled vpon the paynes hereafter declared.
¶Fyrst that ye shall truely obserue and kepe [...] [...]nd singuler the kynges hyghnes iniunctions, geuen vnto you heretofore in my name by his graces auctorite, not only vpō the paynes therin expressyd, but also in your defaulte now after this second monitiō continued, vpō further punyshment to be straytly extended towarde you by the kynges hyghnes arbitremēt / or his vicegerent afore sayd.
¶Item that ye shall prouyde on thisside the feast of [...] next cōmyng, one boke of the hole byble of the largyest volume in Englyshe and the same set vp in sum conuenient place wythin the said church that ye haue cure of, where as your parishoners may moste cōmodiously resorte to the same and reade it. The charge of which boke shalbe ratably borne betwene you the ꝑson & the parishoners a fore sayd: that is to say, thone half by you, and thother half by them.
¶Item that you shall discorage no man priuely or apertly from the readynge, or herynge of the sayde bible / but shall expressely prouoke, [...]ere, and exhorte euery persone to rede the same, as that whiche is the very lyuely worde of god, that euery christen person is bounde to enbrace, beleue, and folowe / yf they loke to be saued / admonysshynge them neuerthelesse to auoyde all contention and altercation therin, but to vse an honest sobrietie in thinquisition of the trewe sence of the same, and to referre thexplication of obscure places to men of higher iugement in scripture.
¶Item that ye shall euery sondaye and holydaye throughe the yere openly and playnly recite to your parishoners twyse or thryse to gyther, or oftener if nede requyre, one particle or sentēce of the Pater noster or crede in Englishe, to thintent they may lerne the same by harte. And so from day to day to geue them one lyke lesson or sentence of the same, tyll they haue lerned the hole Pater nofter and Crede in Englyshe by rote. And as they be taught euery sentence of the same by rote, ye shal expounde and declare the vnderstandynge of the same vnto them, exhortynge all parentes and householders, to teache theyr children and seruauntes the same, as they are bounde in conscience to do. And that done ye shall declare vnto them the .x. cōmaūdementes one by one euery sonday & holiday tyll they be lykewyse ꝑfite in y e same.
¶Item that ye shall in confessions euery Lent examyn euery person that cometh to confession to you, whither they can recite tharticles of our faythe, and the Pater noster in Englishe, and here thē say the same particularly, wherin if they be not perfite ye shal declare to the same that euery christen person ought to knowe them before they shulde receyue the blessed sacrament of thaulter, and monyshe them to lerne the same more perfitely by the nexte yere folowinge / or els, lyke as they ought not to presume to come to goddes boorde without perfite knowlege of the same, and if they do, it is to the great peryll of theyr soules: So ye shall declare vnto them that ye loke for other Iniunctions from the kynges highnes by that tyme to stay and repell all suche from goddes boorde as shalbe founde ignorant in the premisses / wherof ye do thus admonyshe them, to thintent they shuld bothe eschewe the peryll of theyr soules, and also the worldly rebuke that they might incurre hereafter by the same.
¶Item that ye shall make or cause to be made in the sayde churche and euery other cure ye haue, one sermon euery quarter of a yere at the leaste, wherin ye shall purely, and syncerely declare the very gospel of christe, and in the same exhorte your herers to the workes of charite, mercy and faythe, specially prescribed, & cōmaunded in scripture, and not to repose there trust or affiaunce in any other workes deuysed by mens phanthasyes besydes scripture, as in wanderyng to pilgrimage, offeryng of money, candelles or tapers to Images or relyques, or kyssing or lyckyng the same, saying ouer a nombre of beades, not vnderstanded ne mynded on, or in such lyke supersticion, for the doynge wherof, ye not only haue no promyse of rewarde in scripture, but contrary wyse greate threates and maledictions of god, as thynges tendyng to ydolatrye & superstition, which of all other offences god almyghtye dothe moste detest and abhorre, for that the same diminysheth most his honour and glorie.
¶Item that suche Images as ye knowe in any of your cures to be so abused with pilgrimages or offeringes of any thyng made thervnto, ye shal for auoydyng of that moste detestable offence of Idolatrie, furthwyth take down and deley, and shall suffre frome hensforthe no candels, tapers or Images of war to be set afore any Image or picture, but only the lyghte that comenlye gothe acrosse the church, by the roode lofte, the lyght afore the sacrament of thaulter, and the lyght about the sepulchre, which for thadourning of the church and diuine seruyce ye shal suffre to remayn styll admonisshyng your parishoners, that Images serue for no other purpose, but as to be bokes of vnlerned men, that can no letters, wherby they myght be otherwyse admonysshed of the lyues & conuersacion of thē that the said Images do represent, which Images if they abuse for any other intent than for such remēbraunces / they cōmytte Idolatrye in the same to the great daunger of theyr soules. And therfore the kinges highnes gratiously tendering the weale of his subiectis soules hathe in parte alredy and more wyll hereafter trauayle for the abolisshinge of suche Images, as myghte be occasyon of so greate an offence to god, and so great daunger to the soules of his louyng subiectes.
¶Itē that in al such benefices or cures as ye haue, where vpon ye be not your self resident, ye shall appoynt such curates in your stede / as both can by there habilite, and wyll also promptely execute these Iniunctions, & do there dutye otherwyse that ye are boūde to do in euery behalf accordingly, & may profyte there cure, no lesse wyth good exemple of lyuing, than with declaracion of the worde of god, or els theire lacke and defaulte shalbe imputed vnto you, who shall straytly answer for the same, if they do otherwyse.
¶Itē that ye shall admytte no man to preach wythin any of your benefices or cures, but such as shall appere vnto you to be sufficientlye licenced therto by the kynges hyghnes or his grace authoryte, by tharchbisshop of Cantorb. or y e bysshop of this dioces And such as shalbe so licenced ye shall gladly receyue to declare the worde of god wythout any resistence or contradiction.
¶Itē if you haue heretofore declared to your parishoners any thige to thextollig or setting forth of pylgremages, reliques, or Images or any such superstition, ye shall now openly afore the same recante and reproue the same, shewyng them (as the truth is) that ye dyd the same vpon no grounde of scripture, but as one beynge led & seduced by a cōmen errour and abuse crepte into the church through the sufferaūce and auarice of such as felt profytte by the same.
¶Itē yf you do or shal know any mā within your parysh, or els where y r is a letter of the word of god to be redde in Englysh, or [...] preached, or of thexecutiō of these iniunctions, or a fautor of the bysshop of Romes pretensed power, now by the lawes of this realme [...].