LANFRANC, Abp. Cant. St. Matth. 19. 11, 12. 1 Cor. 7. 2.9. Du Pin's Hist. cent. vii. 249. remonstrated against in Germany, Italy, and France: that the clergy spoke out with great freedom and satire against the pope; charged him with advancing an intolerable error, and decreeing a flat contradiction to our Saviour, and his apostle St. Paul: that they were resolved to maintain the liberties of Christianity, and would rather renounce their orders than their marriage; and since he refused to make use of men, they desired him to see if he could get the spirits above to leave their stations and govern the Churches under his holiness. This was the language of these corrupted ecclesiasticks,' as Monsieur Du Pin calls them. But Matthew new Eccles. Paris, though a monk, is more favourable, abets the interest xi. in Greg. of the married clergy, and censures the pope's conduct. "The pope," says he, "excommunicated the married clergy, incapacitated them for the performance of their function, and forbid the laity being present when they officiated." This, as the historian goes on, was, in the opinion of many, a new precedent, and a rash sentence. It was contradicting antiquity, and decreeing against the doctrine of the fathers, by whom we are taught, that the holy sacraments depend upon the invisible operation of the Holy Ghost, and that the morals and qualification of the priest signify nothing as to this mysterious efficacy: that the benefits of baptism and the Lord's supper, are neither enlarged by the merits, nor lessened by the faults of such as administer them. That this rigour of the pope gave a horrible scandal, and that no heresy had ever occasioned more schism and disturbance in the Church that it proved the occasion of great insobriety and license, and that the vow of chastity, as they called it, was frequently broken; besides, it gave the laity a handle of declaiming against the clergy, and breaking loose from the authority of the Church: that it exposed the holy mysteries to question and contempt, made the laity invade the sacerdotal office, profane the sacraments, slight the ministrations of married priests, and venture to go out of the world without the proper assistances of that function. And, lastly, that the pope's order had pushed some people to such an irreligious excess, that they burnt the tithes, and trampled the Mat. Paris. holy eucharist, consecrated by married priests, under their Hist. major, feet. But notwithstanding the decree of the council at Rome, and the pope's eagerness in pressing the execution, P. 9. Du Pin. cent. xi. ib. LIAM I. nied by the the English synod refused to come up to the extremity of WILhis measures; for they allow the priests in the country, K. of Eng. already married, to cohabit with their wives, whereas the This synod pope disables all married priests, without distinction, from gives a liberty to the exercise of their office, unless they lived separately, and married broke off from the matrimonial engagement. From hence it priests de appears, that the papal supremacy had not reached its zenith pope. in this century, and that the English bishops did not believe the patriarchal power arbitrary and unlimited; but that a national Church had some reserves of liberty, and might dissent from the constitutions of the see of Rome upon occasion. To proceed with the Winchester council. It was ordained, that no parish priest should suffer any new burthen, or encumbrance upon his Church, more than it was chargeable with in the reign of king Edward the Confessor: that if the laity were accused of any misdemeanour, with reference to religion, and refused to submit to the order of their bishop, they were to be called before him three times; and if they refused to appear and give satisfaction at the third summons, they were to be excommunicated: and if they submitted to the bishop's sentence after excommunication, they were, nevertheless, to pay their diocesan the penalty for the contumacy of their non-appearance when they were summoned. And to conclude with the synod, it was decreed, that no person should marry his daughter or relation without procuring the priest's blessing; and that all pretended marriages solemnized without this circumstance, should be esteemed no better than fornication. Antiquit. A. D. 1076. Sir Henry Spelman mentions the heads of a council held 114. under at Winchester this year, which are somewhat different from Lanfranc. the former. To mention some of them. The altars are ordered to be made of stone. Orders are to be given at stated times. Baptism is to be administered only at Easter and Whitsuntide, unless the person's life was in imminent danger. It is probable, if the acts of the council were extant, we should find that none but adult persons are comprehended under the meaning of this canon. By the ninth, burying in churches is forbidden; but I suppose this order was not passed but with a reserve for bishops and princes. I shall mention but two more; the eleventh and the thirteenth. Spelman. Concil. vol. 2. p. 12. Ex Bibl. Cottonian, sub Effig. Tiberii. FRANC, LAN- The eleventh allows the enjoining and direction of peAbp. Cant. nance to none but the bishops: the other obliges every bishop to hold a synod in his diocese once a year. An account and pro diocesan synods. Now these synods having been disused for some time in England, I shall give the reader a short account of them. ceedings of And here, in the first place, it has been the constant sense of the ancient councils, and fathers of the Church, that every bishop has a commission from our Saviour to govern his diocese, and in order thereunto to convene his priests under him. The common direction of the canon law, appoints the Lindwood meeting once a year. And this, Lindwood seems to deliver tiones Angl. as the rule of the English Church: and thus the matter is stated in the designed reformation of the canons, drawn up Reformat. in the reign of king Henry VIII. Constitu fol. 35. Leg.Eccles. et Ministr. To this annual synod, all the clergy, who had any beneejus c. 20. fice within the diocese, were obliged to come, under the penalty of suspension: the regulars too, as well abbots as monks, were bound to this attendance, excepting those, that in process of time, were exempted from episcopal jurisdiction. 250. If the diocese was small, and had but one archdeaconry in it, the whole clergy met together at once: if it were more large, the bishop sometimes divided his synods according to the number of his archdeaconries; and held his diocesan council at several times, and in several places; but still the method of business was the same in all. The form of holding these synods is as follows: the clergy, in solemn procession, came to the church assigned at the time appointed by the bishop, and seated themselves by the priority of their ordination. Then the deacons and laity were admitted. The bishop, or in his absence, the vicar, when the office for the occasion was over, made a solemn exhortation to the audience. Then a sermon was preached, after which, if the clergy had any complaints to make, or any thing else to offer, they were heard by the synod. The complaints of the clergy being over, the laity made theirs. Then the bishop proposed his diocesan constitutions to them. After which, if nothing remained to be done, he made a synodical exhortation by way of injunction to his clergy, and so all concluded with solemn prayers suitable to the business. The form, at the conclusion of the first day, called Benedictio Prima Diei, was this: WILLIAM I. K. of Eng. Qui dispersos Israel congregat, ipse vos hic et ubique cu- Spelman. stodiat, Amen. Et non solum vos custodiat, sed ovium sua- Concil. vol. rum custodes idoneos efficiat. Amen. Ut cum summo Pa store Christo de gregum suorum pastione gaudeatis in Cœlo. Amen. Quod ipse parare dignetur, &c. The benedictions, as they were called, of the other two days, were much to the same purpose. For the dispatch of the business of these synods, the common time allowed, as has been hinted, was three days; and a separate Rubrick was settled to direct the proceedings in each of them. But if the business of the synod could be done in a shorter time, the assembly continued no longer 2. p. 1, 2. Biblioth. than was necessary. Having now given a short account of the time, persons, Cleopatra. and manner of holding these synods, I shall, in a word or c. 8. two, mention the business transacted there. The first thing done on these occasions, was, for the bishop to make his synodical enquiries, of which the ancient forms are still extant. Then the synodical causes were heard, and every one was permitted to make his complaint. Secondly, in these synods the bishop used to report to his clergy what had been decreed in the larger synods of the province, to charge them to have a care of their ministry, and lay before them the main branches of their respective duty and business. And, Lastly, the bishop published his own diocesan constitutions: which being read, and agreed to by the synod, were from thenceforth in force within the diocese, provided they were not contrary to the decrees of some superior council of the province. Of these we have several collections already published in the volumes of the English councils, and many more are still remaining in the bishops' registers: and to Dr. Wake's conclude this subject, the use of these diocesan synods were State of the continued in England till the reign of Henry VIII. Church, &c. bishop of About this time, and probably two years previous, one Patrick, Patrick, an Easterling, as Sir James Ware calls him, was Dublin, conelected bishop of Dublin, and sent into England to be con- secrated by Lanfranc. secrated by Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury. He LAN- brought a letter of recommendation with him, which runs FRANC, thus: : Abp. Cant. The letter of the clergy that arch bishop. "To Lanfranc, the reverend metropolitan of the holy Church of Canterbury, the clergy and people of Dublin and people of Dublin to tender their due obedience. You are not unacquainted, most reverend father, that the Church of Dublin, the metropolis of Ireland, is unprovided of a governor. To supply this vacancy we have made choice of a priest called Patrick, whom we all know to be nobly descended, and educated suitably to his quality; well skilled in ecclesiastical learning, orthodox in his belief, of great sufficiency and judgment for expounding the Scriptures, and thoroughly acquainted with the doctrine and customs of the Church. Our request is, that this person may be ordained our bishop as soon as possible, that so we may be furnished with one under God to instruct and govern us, and that under his government we may fight securely; forasmuch as the safety of those that are subject consists very much in the good qualities and integrity of him that governs." Ware de bern. in Episcop. This Patrick, at his ordination, made a profession of caDubliniens. nonical obedience to the archbishop of Canterbury in the Cotton Cle- form following: Biblioth. opatra, E.I. Ware et "Whosoever is placed in a post of government over others, provided he does not stand in a supreme station, ought not to be backward in paying a regard to those above him; but rather, with all humility, in obedience to God's commands, give the same deference, in every respect, to his superiors, which he expects from those under his own care and jurisdiction. For this reason, I, Patrick, bishop of Dublin, the metropolis of Ireland, deliver this instrument of my profession and acknowledgment to you, most reverend father, Lanfranc, primate of the British Isles, and archbishop of the holy church of Canterbury; and do promise that I will be obedient to you and your successors in all things that may concern the Christian religion." This bishop Patrick, besides his being chosen by the clergy and people of Dublin, was likewise recommended by Gothric Crovan, king of Mann, who had lately conquered |