¶ An answere to a letter ⧠♣ Cum priuilegio ¶ Here begynneth the answer I Haue receyued youre letter wherby I perceiue that syth your returnyng iÌ„ to your contrey Ye haue herde that there is yet here in London moche coÌ„munycation great dyuersytie of opynions vpon suche articles as were spokeÌ„ of whaÌ„ ye were here And ye haue also written to me at a good leÌ„gth all the articles that be noysed ther in your countrey to go yet abrode here in the cytie And thervpon ye desyre me to write vnto you my coÌ„ceyt / what I thynke is to be holdeÌ„ in those articles surely that is a right great request for me to accoÌ„plishe For though I entende to speke the truthe therin / do so in dede yet paraduenture some men wyll be offeÌ„ded with it / nat take it playnly after my meanyng but neuertheles / trustyng that the most parte of the people be nowe iÌ„ these dayes enclyned to take all thiÌ„ges to the best I wyll nat for the opynyon of a fewe / fully deny your reqÌ„st theriÌ„ / but shall shewe you with good wyll my conceyt to all your articles / for I trust charitie hath moued you to that desyre And I wyll nat recyte here your artycles perticulerly togither / but wyll answere to them after the same order as they stande in your letter And so / euery man that shall happen to rede this answere shall knowe the order of the articles iÌ„ your letter And fyrst ye saye / that many in your couÌ„trey reporte that there shuld be a sayeng here about London / that the kyng hath many newe authorites gyuen hym / by that he is recognysed to be the supreme hed vpoÌ„ erth vnder god of the church of EnglaÌ„de / ye desyre me to shewe you my conceyt what I thiÌ„ke therin / I wyll fyrst with good will say soÌ„ what to it to satisfye your desyre ¶ Whether the kynge by that he is recognysed to be supreme heed vnder god vpon erth of the church of EnglaÌ„de / haue therby any new power giuen hiÌ„ ouer his subiectes that he had nat before The first cha THe kyng / by that he is recognysed by the parliamente to be the supreme heed vnder god vpon erth / of the church of Englande / hath as I take it no newe power gyuen hiÌ„ in any thiÌ„ge but that lyke as before that recognisyon made / he had all such power ouer his subiectes spirytuall and temporall / as to a kyng beloÌ„geth by the lawe of god so after the seyde recognisyon / he had the same power without alteration / none other but that And therfore he maye nat as I suppose by reasoÌ„ of that recognisyon / take vpon hiÌ„ any auctority that our lorde gaue only to his apostels or discyples / iÌ„ spirytuall ministratyon to the people And though he may nat / yet the recognisyon was nat to al inteÌ„tes voyde / for by reason therof the power of the kyng is more euydeÌ„tly knowen than it was before that recognisyon made for before that recognisyon / the clergye had gretly defaced the power of kingê in this realme And for a more playne declaration of this mater / it is to be consydered / that there are some thynges that are called mere spirytuall / and that be so in dede And ther be some that haue beÌ„ called mere spirituall / whiche neuerthelesse perteygne to the power of kynges and princes The thynges mere spirituall be these The consecration of the sacrament of the auter / the makynge of absolucyons / the gyuyng of orders / the ministratyon that saynt Paul speke of ad Corin. iiii Whan he sayd of hiÌ„self of other Apostels discyples of Christ thus / Let euery man esteme vs as ministers of Christ / as dispeÌ„satours of the misteryes of god / wherby he vnderstode princypally the ministratyoÌ„ of the sacramentes And suche ministration the kynge may nat take vpon him / ne he intendeth it nat I knowe well that a kynge maye be a prest yea / a bysshop also / thaÌ„ might he lawfully minister al such spuÌ„all thiÌ„ges if he lyst but I wolde nat thynke that it were an incresynge of his honour to do so for the honoure of a kynge staÌ„deth specyally iÌ„ doyng iustyce vnto his people / as it appereth Ps xcviii where it is sayd The honour of a kyng loueth iustyce And one poiÌ„t of iustyce is / to se the ministers vnder hiÌ„ do their duty And therfore if bysshoppes were neglygente in doynge their ministration to the people / the kyng might coÌ„mauÌ„de them to do it that were more honour to him than do it hiÌ„ selfe And though as it appeareth ii Par. xix Kyng Iosaphat ordeyned iugê in all the cyties of Iuda and that in Ierusalem he ordeyned Leuytes prestes / princes of famelyes that they shuld iuge the iugement and cause of our lorde c. Yet it appereth nat that he made them prestes no more than he made Amaryas a preest for thoughe he appoynted Amaryas to be cheife preest / yet it appereth that he was a prest before And also though kyng Dauid appoynted the prestes and leuytes to their offyces / as appereth .i. Par. xxiii xxiiii Yet it appereth nat that he made any of them preestes Also trouth it is / that euery kyng is bounden to minister iustyce vnto his people / accordyng to the lawes of his realme And may therfore to that intent be called a minister but yet that ministration is all in a nother maner / than is the ministration of the successours of the apostels for the ministration of a kynge / is the ministration of power / iustyce souerayntie and to it ar necessary great possessyoÌ„s / honour and ryches / to maynteyne his estate And the ministratyon of the other standeth in spirytuall seruyce to the people / in mekenes / ghostly counsell / preachynge and teachynge in all charyte in somoche that none shulde be mery in god / but they shulde be mery with him none shulde be in heuynesse / but they shulde sorowe with him and to these ministers is necessary suffysaunce without abundaunce and honest pouerty is nat directly agaynst that ministration they ought alway to haue a contynuall desyre that the people shulde lyue in such brotherly loue quyetnes that there shulde nede no ministration of iustice by the high powers to be vsed amongest them And if any suche happened to come / they shuld feare gretly that it might happen to come through some defaute in them And surely whaÌ„ any gret variaunce trouble ryse among the people / it is nat vnlyke but that some parte of the occasyon therof rose fyrste through the defautes neglygence of some of the clergye Than syth it is right highly expedyeÌ„t for the ministration of a price to haue habundaÌ„ce of possessyons as is sayde before / howe maye he take any other ministration vpon him
some of the clergye that as he thynketh be suffycyently lerned in scrypture / lyke as it is conuenyent in doutes of Physyke to aske counsell of doctoures of Phisyke / or in doutes of the teÌ„porall law to aske counsell of them that be lerned in the temporal law And if he in any dout of scrypture aske counsell of such clerkes as he thynketh be suffycyently lerned in scrypture / they instruct hiÌ„ other wyse than the true vnderstaÌ„dynge of the scrypture is / yet that suffyceth for him / so it be nat dyrectly agaynst the lawe of reason for that all men are bounden to knowe But syth they of the clergye haue auctorite by the gospell to preache the gospell / they ar more bounden to knowe the gospell thaÌ„ any other But than there be some other texttes in the scrypture that concerne the auctoritie / power / iurisdiction and rychesse of bysshops prestes as it is vpoÌ„ these textê QuodcuÌ„que ligaâ—eris c. Tu es Petrê° et suê‘ hanc Petâ—am c. Tibi dabo claues c. Mat. xvi QuodcuÌ„que ligaueritis c. Mat. xviii Dic ecctie Mat. xviii Ecce duo gladii hic Luc. xxii c. Oraui ê‘te Petre vt non deficiat fides tua et in aliquÌ„ coÌ„uersus c. Luc. xxii Pasce oues meas Io. xxi Predicate euaÌ„gelm oiÌ„ creature Mar vltio Nolite possidere aurum neque argeÌ„tuÌ„ Mat x. c. Qui noÌ„renuÌ„crauerit possidet oiÌ„aqÌ„ noÌ„ potest meê° esse discipulê° luc 14. sicut misit me prÌ„ ego mitto vos Io. xxi Quorum remiseritis peta c. Io. xx habeÌ„tes alimeÌ„ta quibê° tegamur c. i. Timo. vi Nolite taÌ„gere christos meos ps 44. And many other which I here omit if a maÌ„ were in dout vpoÌ„ these textes / what power iurisdiction possessioÌ„s or lyberte the clergy ought to haue by the seyd textê or whether such actê lawê as haue beÌ„ made biÌ„ princes their people concernyng suche thynges were to be obeyd or suche other lyke Many men thynke that it were natte the most surest way to aske couÌ„sell therin of the lerned meÌ„ in the clergi / onles it were of some siÌ„guler elect meÌ„ that through speciall grace / haue seqÌ„stred their myndê fro the loue of all worldly honour riches for the affectioÌ„ to such worldli pleasures haue blynded the iugemeÌ„t of many of theÌ„ so soreê that they haue thought / the the mayntenaunce of the honour of the clergye hath ben a mayntenaunce of the honour of god And so as it were vnder a pretence to maynteyne the honour of god haue dyspleased god maynteyned their owne honour rychesse / farther than the seyde textes / or anye other parte of scrypture wyll warrant them to do This hathe ben sene in some of the clergye / but I truste it be nat so in all / neuerthelesse to speke somewhat further of this mater I thynke that if anye doute ryse vpon any text of scrypture / be it playne or nat playne concernyng the fayth or morall lyuiÌ„g of the people or nat orels the honour / lyberty / ryches of the clergye / or any other thyng whatsoeuer it be if there fall any varyaÌ„ce or vnquyetnesse thervpon amoÌ„ge the people as if one doctoure or many / some of the lay people be of one opinyon therin other of a nother opinyon / thervpon dyuersyties of opinyons vnquyetnesse amonge the people doo ryse / that in all these cases / kynges and princes shal be iudges / haue power to pacyfye all suche vnquyetnesse For it appereth Psal ii that it is said thus to kynges princes O ye kynges / vnderstande ye be ye lerned that iudge the worlde And if it be sayd that by those wordes / Iuge the worlde / that kinges and princes must iuge onely vpon temporall thynges as vpon the bodyes / landes goodes And nat vpon any thyng that apperteineth to the soule trewly that is a right great erroure / for it wolde bringe the people in belefe / that the successours of the apostles discyples of Christ haue only cure of soules nat kynges princes And that is nat so for it is no dout / but if a prince suffre his people wylfully breke the lawes of god / or the lawes of his realme and se them nat corrected accordyng to his lawes but that he offendeth god rizt highly thereby as euery man shall do / that willyngly wylfully suffreth his seruants breke the law of god without correctyon / whan he may well correcte them and ouer that no man can denye but that euery man is bouÌ„de to procure the ghostly helth of his neyghbour by couÌ„seylyng good example gyuynge to his power as it is writteÌ„ Eccl. xvii God hath gyuen a coÌ„mauÌ„dement to euery man vpon his neybour and syth euery man hathe a charge of his neyghbour / it must nedes folowe that a kynge hath a more speciall charge ouer his subiectes that he is specyally boundeÌ„ to prohibyt all thinges as nigh as he can wherby his subiectes spirytuall or temporall might haue occasion to breke the lawes of god the charge of the clergy is to mynister the sacrameÌ„tes to the people and to preche teche them howe to please god kepe his coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„tes if they be neglygent do nat so / kynges princes ar bouÌ„den to coÌ„mauÌ„de them to do it And if they gyue the people euyll exaÌ„ple / princes ar bouÌ„de to make theÌ„ leue it let euery maÌ„ therfore iuge whether any curate may truly say the kyng hath only cure of the bodyes of my parysshens / but I of their soules for it is no dout but that kynges princes haue cure and charge ouer both / that nat only ouer the soules of laye meÌ„ but also of the soules of bysshops prestes therfore such vayne sayengê wolde be prohibyt / for they nourisshe engendre gret pride / and for a further prouf that priÌ„ces may pacify all maner of vnqietnes that may rise amoÌ„g their people by any maner of occasioÌ„ spuÌ„all or temporall It is sayde Exo. vi a wyse kynge is the stablenesse of his people wherof it foloweth / that if the vnstablenesse come by occasyon of any exposycion of scrypture / be it by doctours / prechers / or any other / that kynges haue power to stable theÌ„ And of that it foloweth also that if any man wyll preache in such maner that it is lyke to make vnquietnesse among the people that the prince maye prohybit him of that prechyng for he that hath auctoritie to remoue an vnquyetnesse present hath auctorite to preuent occasions wherby such vnquietnesse might happen to folow after amonge his subiectes Furthermore / all men agree that the catholyque churche maye expounde scrypture if the clergy can proue that they be the catholyke churche / than it beloÌ„geth to them to expounde it But if the
power And .xxiiii. qÌ„ i. loquitur It is sayd that the other Appostles were as Peter was / endewed in one lyke felowship both of honoure and power And syth the power of all the appostles by wytnesse of the lawe / that is called the popes owne law is lyke why shuld than they that pretende to be the successours of Peter / vsurpe that power only to them selues And yet that vsurpacion appereth the more plainly by cause that in the .xviii. chapiter of Mat. our lorde sayd to his discyples generally the same wordes before rehersed / that is to saye what soeuer ye lose vpon erth shal be losed in heuen it must of necessyte be taken / that by that worde discyples / he ment either his apostels which be ofte called in the gospell discyples or els that he ment therby the .lxxii. discyples or els that he ment them both And if he ment therby the .xii. apostles only / than euery one of them had yet by those wordes as hygh power as any of the other had And if he ment therby the .lxxii. discyples the .xii. Appostels also than hathe euery preest to this day power to grauÌ„te pardon / bycause he is the successor of the .lxxii. discyples / if they haue so a I thiÌ„ke verily it is no doute but they haue it is greatly to be merueled / why they or bisshops either wold renounce forsake that power that was so playnly gyuen to theÌ„ by Christ Howbeit some men wene that it was done to th eÌ„tent that they by that occasyon other lyke might make one bysshop so hygh iÌ„ auctorite aboue all other bisshops and prestê / that he shuld be able to matche with kiÌ„ges princes if bysshops prestê haue that power than maye kynges princes commaunde theÌ„ to exercise that power for the renounsynge of their predecessoures in that behalfe byndeth them nat And neuerthelesse vpon that renounsynge / hathe folowed this incoÌ„uenyence / that none coulde haue suche pardon or absolucioÌ„ but fro Rome / and that nat frely / but for greate sommes of money / excepte only that to please Cardynalles / Archebysshoppes and bysshoppes It was agreed that Cardynalles and Archebysshoppes / shulde haue power to graunt an hundreth dayes of pardone and bysshoppes .xl. dayes but as for prestes which were and be conuersaunt dayly amonge the people in euery parysshe / and that mighte haue done most good therwith to the peple as I shall soÌ„what touch afterward was no prouysyon for all the study dilygence was to exalte busshops and here it is to be noted howe great dissymulatyon and pride was in this conueyance aswell in the successours of Peter as of the other Appostles in those dayes For if that power had ben onely graunted to Peter and his successours / than might nat he nor his successours haue grauÌ„ted his power / nor no parte therof to any other for it can nat be proued neither by the letter of the texte / ne yet / that it shulde be the intente of Christ / that he wolde that Peter shulde make suche deputyes And he made nat only Cardinals / archbysshops bysshops his deputies to graunte suche pardon as he appoynted them / as is aforesayde but he graunted also many tymes suche deputacyon condycyonally to all prestes seculer reguler / as though they shulde haue their power onely fro him therefore he graunted his pardons many tymes vnder this maner / that who soeuer wolde gyue suche a somme of money to the reperation of S. Peters church at Rome / or to som other intent expressed in the bulles that they shuld amonge other thinges haue auctorite to take an able ghostly father / seculer or reguler / that shulde haue power to assoyle them fro all theire offences / also fro the payne dewe for it / excepte that comenly in such pardons som thynge was alway reserued to Rome / as for a remembrance that meÌ„ shulde nat forget the way thyther And howe coulde the pope grauÌ„te power to suche confessour to assoyle anye man fro payne / if the confessoures had nat had that power before of god And if euery preest haue suche power of god / as I thynke verily he hath as well as any bysshop than it semeth that it were good that they shuld be commaunded to vse that power herafter by way of absolucyon frely / to the ease conforte of the people / they nat to be dryuen to go to any bysshop for it And if that power were so ordred / than all the good dedes that any man shulde do after suche absolucyons by waye of penaunce or other wyse / shulde be auaylable to hym to encrease his ioye in heuen / and nat only for puttyng away of paine for their sinne passed And as it semeth it is very conuenyent that ther shuld be such an absolucyon a pena et culpa in christes church for the lawe of christ is called the lawe of grace mercy And the olde lawe was called the lawe of iustyce and alwaye in the olde lawe / by a full parfyte contricyon equiualent to the actuall synne the sine / also the payne for the siÌ„ne was put away / excepte onely the origynall synne / therefore it shuld seme that the new law shuld be more fauourable thaÌ„ that was / and that is as I suppose by suche absolucyons / wherby all the good dedes that the penytent shal do after the absolucyon shal be turned holly to his rewarde in heuen as is afore sayde And furthermore if it were admytted that the successours of Peter shulde haue only the power to graunt pardon yet neuerthelesse it appereth euydently that they haue iÌ„ tyme past rizt gretly abused their power therin for the wordê that gaue theÌ„ power in that behalf / be the wordê before rehersed Whatsoeuer thou losest vpon erth shal be losed in heuen by which wordes it appereth that the meaniÌ„g of our lorde was / that Peter shuld haue non auctoritie to lose any man by that graunte but such as were bounden to som thiÌ„g before suche losynge As if a man had offeÌ„ded / wer by reasoÌ„ of that offence bouÌ„den to a certayne paine for it / that thaÌ„ PetÌ„ his successors shulde haue power to release it And that if he released that payne in erth / that god wold release it in heuen And I can right well agre that he had that power dyuers other also as I haue sayde before But how farre his successours haue abused that power it maye appere thus They haue graunted their pardons nat onely for releasynge of payne for suche synnes as were done afore the tyme of the graunt But they haue graunted also / that all they that wolde giue suche a somme of money / shulde haue power to chuse them an able ghostly father / that shulde assoyle them as well of the offences done after the pardon graunted as before and also of the
vndoutedly our lorde wyll so helpe him and assyst him therin / that he shall nat erre / ne be disceyued For it is written ii Paralip xx Cum ignoremus quid facere / debeamê° hoc soluÌ„ residui habemus vt oculi nostri ad te dirigantur That is to saye / Lorde / whan we be ignorant wot nat what to do / this only remayneth to vs for our confort / that we lyft our eyen vp to the. And if we do so we may trust verily that his helpe and counsell wil neuer fayle vs / but wyll bring vs to the knowlege of that that is necessarye for vs. ¶ An answere to dyuerse shorte particuler questions conteyned in the letter The .viii. chapiter TO all the shorte partyculer questions coÌ„teined in your letter I wyll brefely as I can make answer in this .viii. cha And as to the fyrst of the sayd particuler questyons / I thinke that kynges and princes might haue prohybyt the clergy to haue ordeyned amongest theÌ„ patryarkes / cardnials / or any other degree iÌ„ the clergye but onely bysshops / prestes deakoÌ„s Also if a maÌ„ had takeÌ„ two benefyces with cure iÌ„ this realme / they both after the old groundes of the law of the realme had ben voide / this voydance was called cessyon but in ê“cesse of tyme lycenses wer opteyned from Rome to haue two benefices And those lyceÌ„ses by power of the clergy were iuged to be good / and so the lawe and custom of the Realme in that poynte was broken And yet it wyll be verye harde to proue it by the lawe / that it shulde haue ben so And neuerthelesse by reason therof / the seyde grouÌ„de was altered to this effect / that if a man toke two benefyces without dyspensacyon fro Rome / that both benefyces shuld be voyd but if the first grounde were clerely reuyued none to haue but one benefyce / it were well done for the breking of that grounde hath done gret hurte / than it might ther vpon be ê“uided that he that is more worthy shuld haue the better benefyce no vnyon of benefyces to be made in tyme to come Also though the apostles discyples of Christ and theyr successours had auctorite by the gospell to preche the gospell yet that any one of them shulde haue auctorite to prohybyt another of them of prechyng / appereth nat by the gospel but in case that any take vpon him to preche teche any thyng agaiÌ„st the catholycall faythe / to the parell and daunger of the kynges subiectes / and whereby scysmes and varyaunces be lyke to folowe amoÌ„ge his people suche of the clergye as knoweth it / ar bounde to enforme the kyng of it / than he thervpon may prohibyt them of prechyng / see them corrected as the case requireth But if the rulers in the clergye / shulde haue full auctoritie to make such prohibicyons / it might be that abusioÌ„s in the clergy shuld nat be so well touched as charytie wolde they shulde be / that might be greate hurte trouble to all the realme / and that the kyng and his parlyament hath auctorite to make that prohibycyon The clergye of englaÌ„de knewe right well whaÌ„ they laboured in the parlyament / that commyssyons shuld be grauÌ„ted to the sheryffes to arest prechers of heresy Anno .ii. Rich. ii stat ii Cap. vltimo And as to that opinyon that ye write to me of / whether the soules that be dyscessed in grace be nowe in heueÌ„ / or that they rest for a certayne tyme in a place to them appoynted by god tyll that the tyme of the generail resurrectyon shall come / so that the bodye the soule may be ioyned togyther / and than they both togyther to go to heuen and haue the fruycyon of the godheed nat before Verily I haue herde but lytell spekynge thereof many a daye For scrypture is so playne therin / And is nowe so well knowen to many by the reasoÌ„ that it is come in to the Englysshe tonge / that dyuers that haue douted therin in tymes past / be nowe contented and holde theire pease And parte of the textes that haue somewhat stablysshed theÌ„ therin / I shall brefely recyte One texte is Psal C.xxvi where it is sayde Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum ecce hereditas domini filii merces fructus ventris That is whan our lorde hath gyuen to his beloued / slepe lo the inherytance of oure lorde / the rewarde of the sonne / and the frute of the wombe whiche is thus moche to saye That whan oure lorde hath taken a ryghtwyse man / nat bounde to anye synne / ne to anye payne for synne / by the slepe of naturall deth that forthwith cometh the enherytaunce of god / the rewarde of the sonne of god That is to saye / the eternall glorie of heuen And the frute of the wombe / which is christ Another texte is this oure lorde sayde to his discyples Ioh. xiii If I go fro you / and prepayre to you a place / I wyll come agayne and take you to my selfe / That where I am / you shal be And so syth he is in heuen / it muste nedes folow that they be there with him And also he sayde Iohannis xvii Father / those that thou hast gyuen to me / I wyll / that where I am / that they shall be with me that they shall see my clerenesse whiche thou haste gyuen me And also it appereth Apocalipsis .xiiii. That Saynte Iohan sawe a Lambe standynge on the mounte of Syon / and with him a hundreth and .xliiii. M. hauyng his name the name of his father / written in their foreheeddes and they sang as it had beÌ„ a newe song before the sete / and before the .iiii. bestes seygnyours / that no man coulde saye but those C.xliiii M that were bought fro the erth And in that he saith that they wer bought fro the erthe / it appereth that they were the soules of theÌ„ whiche had lyued before in erth / whiche saynt Iohan sawe en vysyon standynge before god And it can nat be takeÌ„ that they were there in bodye and soule / but in soule only It appereth also in the gospell that Lazar was in the bosome of Abraham And it is no doute but that the bodye of Abraham that tyme slepte By these textes and dyuers other nat here rehersed / that matter is well appesed / so that I wolde nat haue written to you anye thynge therin / but that ye desyred me in your letter so to do Also there be some here aboute the cytie that thynke that they that endeuour them selfe to withdraw the mindes of the people somwhat fro the inordynate goynge on pilgrymages / prayeng to sayntes / worshippynge of them And fro worshippynge of ymages and relyques styrre theym to set theyr myndes and their deuocion / holly and fully in Christ our sauyour / of whom all goodnesse cometh in heuen and in erth / do more to maynteyne the true honour to our lady and to other sayntes / thaÌ„ they that endeuour them selfe to maynteyne such thynges after the old fashion all that they can for sayntes wold haue no honour gyuen to them / ne any trust put in them but it were princypally for Christe and to his honoure And they saye also that no man may with clere conscyence moue the people to contynue suche thinges after the olde maner But they moue theym lykewyse to be well ware of suche parelles and daungers / as they maye lyghtelye fall in to by occasyon thereof but they take good hede And I thynke verily that it is euen true as they saye in that behalfe Also it is true that ther be right manye here aboute the Cytie as well of the clergye / as of the commen people / that thynke that some doctours that haue written vpon Scrypture in tyme past / haue in thynges concernynge the honoure power / lybertye / and rychesse of the Clergye exteÌ„ded Scrypture / verye farre iÌ„ fauour of the clergy But vpon all places of Scrypture that concerne the faythe and the morall lyuynge of the people they thynke the doctoures haue taken the true sence of it / and veryly I suppose it is euen as they saye And I thynke further that it were right expedyent that it shulde be ofte declared and made manyfest to the people / that Scrypture is the thinge that is of hyghest auctorytie in the churche of god / and that it is alwaye trewe and maye neuer be denyed / that the more it is knowen and loued / the more goodnesse shall folowe of it for it is the fouÌ„dacion of the church the shelde of the world the subuersioÌ„ of the fende / the ladder to paradice and the very true fode of the soule and is also of more vertue ghostly strength / than ar the sayengê of all doctours and sayntes / wherefore blessed be they that can wel folowe it And now haue I accordiÌ„g to your desyre shewed you my conceyte to all the artycles coÌ„tayned in your letter And thus I coÌ„mit you to oure lorde Iesu Amen FINIS ¶ Here endeth the answere to the letter And here foloweth the table of the Chapiters The table of the chapiters wHether the kynge by that he is recognysed to be supreme heed vnder god vpon erth of the church of EnglaÌ„de / haue therby any new power gyuen hiÌ„ ouer his subiectes that he had nat before The fyrst cha ¶ Of dyuers thynges concerniÌ„g the power of the bysshop of Rome and of the statutes made in the .xxv. yere .xxvi. yere of kynge Henry the eyght / which treate of the sayd power The .ii. chapiter ¶ Of prayenge to sayntes and worshyppynge of theym The thyrde cha ¶ Whether there be any opinyon among the people / that there be some abusyons concernynge the masse The fourth Cha. ¶ Of pardons and absolutions The .v. Chapiter ¶ Of restitucyon The .vi. chap. ¶ Who hathe power to declare expounde scrypture / and whose declaracyon we be bounde to folowe and whose nat The .vii. chapiter ¶ An answere to dyuerse shorte particuler questions conteyned in the letter The .viii. chap. ¶ The ende of the table ⧠Printed at London by Tho. Godfray Cum priuilegio Regali