report of Zozomen were made Bishops for Honour sake only without assigning them any Church however Barses in time was made Bishop of Edessa and Enlogius succeeded him XI Those who are Ordained into the Ministry are to understand they are enter'd into it for their whole life if they are not lawfully dismissed for good Considerations and that by the Provincial Synod CONFORMITY The 7th Canon of the Council of Calcedon forbids those that have been once admitted into the Clergy to bear Arms or to exercise any worldly Dignity that is The Synod requires that they should always abide in the Profession they have taken upon them and that they should not forsake the Ministry of the Church Rusticus Bishop of Narbona having writ to Pope Leo the I st That he was so moved with the Scandals which daily hapned that he could wish to be freed from the Episcopal Office to lead a more tranquile and quiet life the Pope answering the Bishops Letter Tom. 1. Conc. Gall. p. 111. intimated to him That he could not with a safe Conscience forsake the Office he had undertaken nor flinch from the Employment committed to his trust It is in this same Sense that Pope Felix the IV. Ann. Dom. 528. wrote to Caesarius Bishop of Arles That the Establishment of Church-Guides ought to be firm and immutable Tom. 1. Conc. Gall. p. 254. Tom. 7. Conc. p. 153. In the Year 895. there was a Council held at Tribury near Mayence compos'd of 22 Bishops which in the 17th Canon renew'd that of Calcedon which we above cited and which anathematiz'd those of the Clergy which did not repent of having left their Cures and which did not return to them Pope Calixtus the II. assembled a Council at Tholouza the Canons whereof are inserted in the 18th Chapter of Monsieur De Marca's 8th Book De Concordia Imperii Sacerdotii The 10th of these Canons Excommunicates the Clergy we speak of until they have repented of their prevarication A great while before Tom. 5. Part. 2. p. 211. Paris 1638. to wit in the Vth Century and before the assembling of the Council of Calcedon St. Cyril of Alexandria complains of this Abuse in his Canonical Epistle There is saith he another thing which doth not agree with the Decrees of the Church which is That there are Priests which present Renunciations by writing for if they are worthy to exercise the holy Ministry they must reside on it and if they are not worthy they do not leave it for their Resignation but because their own Deeds condemn them Thence it is that Loup Abbot of Ferriers in Gattinois said in the IXth Century That as nothing but Adultery could dissolve carnal Wedlock so also it is not permitted to lay aside the Pastoral Charge once received Ep. 2 Paris 1664. whilst one may contribute to the good of the Flock Nevertheless there are sundry Examples of those which in divers times and in divers places have for quietness sake renounced the Ministry that is they have forborn exercising the Functions and exercising the Office of a Bishop thus was was it done by Eustathius Tom. 3. Conc. p. 428 429. Metropolitan of Pamphilia to whom the Oecumenical Council of Ephesus in the year 431. preserv'd the Name Honour and Communion of a Bishop Martirius Bishop of Antioch withdrew himself by reason of the Extravagance of his Clergy the Disobedience of his People and the Corruptions of his Church but in preserving to himself the Honour and Dignity of the Ministry as Theodorus Lector writes in his Ecclesiastical History L. 1. p. 555. In the next Age there hapned almost the same thing to Paul Bishop of the same City of Antioch in the VIth Century and in the very Infancy of Religion St. Clement Tom. 3. Conc. p. 800. Disciple of the Apostles advised Pastors whose Churches were not well satisfied with them he counsell'd them to go elsewhere and to acquiesce to the desire of the People assuring them to obtain a great degree of glory in Christ Jesus adding Ep. ad Cor. p. 69. That those who have lived according to the Rule God has prescrib'd has always and will ever do after this manner because they ought to desire nothing more than the Peace and Edification of the Churches Pope Innocent the IIId in the 1st Book of Decretals tit 9. cap. 10. Nisi cum pridem proposes sundry Reasons wherefore it may be permitted to renounce the Conduct of a Flock for instance The reproach our Consciences makes us of some Crime infirmity of Body want of Knowledg the wickedness of the People some grievous Scandal or some personal Irregularity these are the Reasons for which this Pope thought one might desire to be discharg'd from the Ministry of the Church XII The Office of Ministers is principally to Preach and declare the Word of God to their People and they shall be desir'd to abstain from teaching in any strange way not tending to Edification and conforming to the Simplicity and ordinary Stile of God's Spirit taking heed there may be nothing in their Sermons which might bring any prejudice to the Honour and Authority of the Holy Scriptures They shall not Preach without chusing for the Subject-matter of their Discourse some Text of the Bible which they shall keep close to and their Text they shall take and explain the best they can avoiding all unnecessary Amplifications tedious and needless Digressions of many Passages of Scripture not pertinent to the matter in hand and of reciting various Expositions They shall be moderate in alledging the Writings of Ancient Doctors and much less Prophane Authors and Histories They shall not deliver their Doctrine in Scholastick manner nor intermix with strange Languages To conclude Let them avoid every thing that may tend to Ostentation or any way give Occasion to suspect it to which the Consistories Colloques and Synods shall take special heed CONFORMITY The Preaching of the Word being the principal duty of the Holy Ministry the Compilers of our Discipline have taken particular care exactly to prescribe to Ministers the Subject and Manner of doing it these are the two things contain'd in this great Article As to what regards the Subject of their Sermons it must always be taken in the Holy Scripture The Council of Laodicea calls it The Dispensation of the Word of Faith Can. 12. and of the right and true Word and it is with regard hereunto Tom. 1. Concil p. 728. Tom. 4. Concil p. 820. that of Carthage Ann. 398. appoints in the 20th Canon That the Bishop should apply himself only to Reading Prayer and Preaching of the Word of God The Council of Tolledo assembled in the Year of our Lord 675. employs the 2d of its Canons to prescribe to Pastors their Duty saying They should always have in their mouth the Sword of Truth be powerful in exhorting by holy Doctrine and to convince Gainsayers and not to turn aside from
the Church-book if the Children are begotten in lawful Wedlock A Form of Baptism of those which shall be Converted to the Christian Faith as well Pagans Jews Mahometans and Anabaptists which have not been Baptised made at the National Synod of the Reformed Churches of France held at Charanton in the year 1644. the 26 of December and the following Days AFter that the Catechumeny has been sufficiently instructed and Catechis'd to give an account of his Faith and that the Church shall by good Testimonies have taken cognisance of the Integrity of the Persons Life and Learning they shall by the said Persons be presented to the whole assembly of believers to be baptised in their presence And the Minister shall say The first Demand Do you not confess that you are a Child of Wrath deserving death and everlasting damnation Answer Yes Demand Are you not displeased and grieved for all the the sins you have committed ever since you were born and don 't you promise for ever to forsake them Answer Yes Dem. Do you not with all your heart forsake the seducements and temptations of the Devil and his Angels of all the Pomps and Vanities of the World and of all the Affections and Lusts of the Flesh Answ Yes If it be a Pagan the Minister shall say to him Dem. Do you not believe there is one only God which made Heaven and Earth who supports all things by his powerful Word and in whom we live move and have our being Answ Yes Then the following demand shall be made which is common to all and which are to be offer'd to all Dem. Do you not believe this great God which has created Heaven and Earth is one in Fssence and distinguished into three Persons Equal and Coeternal the Father the Son begotten of the Father from all Eternity and the Holy Ghost proceeding Eternal from the Father and the Son Answ Yes If it be a Pagan the three following Questions shall be propos'd Dem. Do you not believe this great God never leaving himself without Witness has manifested himself to Men not only by his Works which from their first production continually publish his Praise and Glory but also by revealing his Will for the Salvation of Mankind contained in the Holy Scriptures called the Old and New Testament Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that all these Holy Scriptures are divinely inspired and continue the perfect Rule of our Faith and good Living Answ Yes Dem. Do you not protest to resist the Devil to the last minute of your Life whom you have hitherto adored serving sdols made with hands or the host of Heaven or to conclude those which by Nature are no Gods Answ Yes If it be a Jew these sive Questions shall be made omiting the four above expressed they belonging to Pagans Dem. Do you not detest the Rebellion and Obstinacy of the Jews and do not you beg pardon for having been so long time ingaged therein Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that what God has been pleas'd to reveal to us of his Will is contain'd not only in the Books of the Old but also in those of the New Testament Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that Jesus the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived in her by the ineffable Power of the Holy Ghost and after condemned to dye on the Cross through the false Accusation of the Jews by the wicked Sentence of Pontius Pilate raised from the dead the third day and now sitting in Glory is God manifest in the Flesh the Eternal Word of the Father by which he created and maintains the whole Vniverse the blessed Seed promised to Adam presently after his Fall by vertue of whom the Serpents head is broken whose coming all the Patriarchs expected with Hope and the great Prophet and true Messias foretold as well by Moses as by the other Prophets which lived after him Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that the Lord Jesus is the fulfilling of the Law in Righteousness to all which believe the truth of his Types and Figures the true Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World and that in him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that now the observation of Legal Ceremonies is not only superfluous but also wholly prejudicial to a good Conscience Answ Yes If the Catecumeny be a Mahometan the Minister shall ask these following Questions omitting the former which particularly refer to Pagans or Jews Dem. Do you not believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are inspir'd of God and conttain his whole Will for the Salvation of Mankind and the only perfect Rule of Faith and good Living Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that Jesus the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived in her by vertue of the Holy Ghost and made after the Flesh of her substance is God and Man blessed for ever perfect God and perfect Man Man made of a Woman in the fulness of time and God ingender'd of God the Father before all Eternity Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that the Lord Jesus from his first conception after the Flesh was Holy Innocent without Spot separate from Sinners and that he suffer'd not Death for his Sins but for ours¿ Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that his Death is the propitiation of our sins yea for the sins of the whole World and that this propitiation is of infinite Merit whereby Eternal Glory and Salvation has been acquir'd for us Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe Mahomet was a Deceiver and that his Alcoran is a Sacrilegious heap of Dreams full of absurdities and broached a purpose to set up a false and abominable Religion Answ Yes Dem. Do you not believe that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus is the power of God to Salvation in all them which believe That the only Christian Religion is the power of God to Salvation in all them which believe that the only Christian Religion is that alone whereby God the Father has revealed his good pleasure for the Salvation of Mankind until the end of the World that since the manifestation thereof there is no other to be expected that the Lord Jesus Christ only is the great Prophet promis'd to the Believers of the Old Testament and that God having formerly spoken in divers manners to Men before and under the Law has spoke to the Church of the New Testament by the Mouth of his only Son Jesus Answ Yes Quest Repeat the summary of your Faith Answ I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth c. If the Catecumene be an Annabaptist the Minister shall say Quest Do you not believe that the Lord Jesus is and shall be true God and Man in both Natures Eternally that he was according to his Manhood like to us in all things sin only excepted so that he was the true Son of Abraham of David of the Blessed
through all the Churches These are the ardent Prayers that are made for you all by Gentlemen and Honoured Brethren Your most humble Servant and Brother in Christ Jesus M. LA ROCQUE Rouen 24o. June 1678. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE WHat Laws are in a State the same things are Canons in the Church All Societies of Men as well Civil as Sacred have always stood in need of some Rules for the conduct of those whereof it is composed and under their direction to attain the designed end which is pleasure of life with the repose of Conscience and tranquility of Mind Man ought of his own free will be inclined to the obedience of these in the main prospect of the pleasure there is in doing his Duty and in the delight which is to be found in the practise of Vertue besides that in so doing depends the happiness all men seek after but which few do find because they seek amiss Nevertheless according to the manner we are made it 's necessary we should be excited by other motives and be set a work by other principles these Motives are Fear of punishment and Hope of rewards the two great springs that give motion if it may be so said to the whole world and which do powerfully ingage men to eschew evil and do good Legislators have also employ'd it in the world the Apostles and their Successors in the Church and God himself made use of it in regard of Adam promising him Life and Immortality if he continued faithful and obedient to him and on the contrary threatning him with death if he were so foolish as to neglect the keeping his Commands and violate the purity of his Laws In the day thou eatest the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt die the death Man being a reasonable Creature it was suitable to God's wisdom to give him Laws to serve as a Rule and direction through the whole course of his life therefore he had no sooner created him but he imprinted in his heart those instructions which we call the Law of Nature the Exercise whereof was to constitute his joy and felicity so that had he always persever'd in his innocence he would not have stood in need of Judges nor of their Tribunals his conscience would have been sufficient for him its counsels would ever have been safe its decisions just and right and all its Ordinances would have tended to the practise of this important maxim of the Son of God which he drew from the very spring of Nature it self not to do to others but what we would they should do to us But sin having interrupted this Oeconomy and darkned the Lights which attended it all these directions of Nature have been ineffectual and these Instructions of no value Nevertheless 't is certain God preserved in Man after his fall or at least he stirred up in him anew by the efficacy of his Providence some little remains of that clear and pure light wherewith the understanding had been illuminated when 't was immediately made by his hand and thence it is that all men have the common and general Notions That there is one God That he governs all things That he punishes the wicked and rewards the good That to honour him is a Law that 's allowed amongst all men And that he must not only be thought to be immortal and blessed but also to be a Lover of Mankind of whose preservation he takes particular care in daily doing them good it was thereby that the Inhabitants of the Isle of Maltha concluded St. Paul was a Murderer Act. 28.3 they said when they saw a Viper on his hand Divine Vengeance followed him and would suffer him to live no longer It is also from this principle proceeded the knowledg the Apostle attributed to the Gentiles when he saith For when the Gentiles which have not the Law Rom. 2.14 15. do by nature the things contain'd in the law these having not the law are a law unto themselves which shew the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts in the mean while accusing or else excusing one another But at length Sin having almost extinguished the light of Nature and made all its instructions unprofitable God was obliged to renew the knowledg of it by publishing his Law which in substance contains the same precepts as those did which God had writ at first in the heart of Men and seeing the greater corruption is so much the more need there is to multiply Laws to restrain its impetuosity and violence and so hinder its spreading and excess God who knew very well the inclination of the people of the Jews which were a people of a stiff neck and uncircumcised heart as the Scripture speaks a people inclined to disobedience and rebellion God I say not content to divulge the Moral Law he thereunto joyned the Ceremonial and Political Laws to the end the Israelites should the easier be retain'd in their duty under the heavy yoke of this severe Discipline Thence it followed by the Rule of contraries That the more Sanctification is advanced the less need there is of Laws which made St. Paul say That the Law is not made for the just but for the Sinners and wicked The first Christians had but very few Decisions and Decrees in their Discipline because being full of Piety and Zeal and that labouring with unspeakable diligence in the work of their Sanctification they disposed themselves voluntarily according to the nature of the Gospel and intention of Jesus Christ and conscionably practising the Maxim of the Apostle That all things should be done decently and in order in the Church of God they with ease were guided by the Divine motions of Grace and the inspirations of that holy Spirit which God had so plentifully and in great measure poured forth on his Church in the first Establishing of Christian Religion for as to the Canons attributed to the Apostles and the Constitutions which also go in their name they are things forged in the following Ages and after this new people had began to degenerate from the first heat of their zeal and that they had given some check to the innocence of their life and to the purity of their Manners and as corruption insensibly got ground so also was seen to increase the number of Canons and Ordinances for it commonly happens that ill actions do multiply good Laws without which it would be impossible to make head against the many Scandals that licentiousness does introduce where it predominates and where sins are not repressed and punished Something of this kind hapned in our Reformation which had a great resemblance with the first Establishment of Christian Religion for it may truly be said that by a particular blessing of Heaven the first Reformers were so holy in their life so pure in their conversation so wise in their conduct so modest in their words and so humble
reading the Holy Scriptures seeing they have received the Office of Preachers And having observ'd that the dumb Minister is not fit to instruct his Flock The Assembly declares That the true Pastor ought to find out those who are under his care either to instruct them without arrogance if they are ignorant Tom. 1. Conc. Gall. Ibid. c. 3 10. or to rejoice with them for the progress they have made in the knowledge of the Mysteries of their Salvation The Council of Reims in the Year of our Lord 813. enjoins Bishops and Pastors in the 14th Canon To preach the Word of God to all the World The VIth of Arles in the same year requires that all the business of Bishops should be Instruction and Preaching because Ignorance is the Mother of all Errors and that the Word of God should be taught not only in Cities but also in the Parishes In the Year 858. Herrald Bishop of Tours made a Capitulary taken out of Ancient Canons in the 9th of which he appoints That Priests should preach to all the Faithful Tom 3. Conc Gall. p. 111. the Doctrines of Faith the Incarnation of Jesus Christ his Death Resurrection his Ascension the Gift of the Holy Ghost and the Remission of Sins To all which may be added the 58th Canon of the Apostles If after the Decrees of Councils we consult the Ancient Doctors they will also testify that Ministers are particularly called to Preach the Gospel and to declare to their Hearers the word of Truth My Sheep said to this purpose Gregory Nazianzen Orat. 25. p 440. My Sheep hear my voice that is to say that which I have received from the Divine Oracles which I have preached ever after one manner throughout the whole course of my life without complying with the Times and which I will never forbear to preach Tom. 4. p. 266. and St. Jerom in his 3d Book of Commentaries upon the 16th Chapter of Jeremiah saith It is the Duty of Pastors to teach it is what the putting the Bible on their head at their Ordination should put them in mind of This will appear yet more plainly if after having consider'd the Subject and Argument of Ministers Preaching the Gospel we also examine the Matter which according to our Discipline should be plain conformable to the Scripture fit to Edify free from intricate School-questions and from all Ostentation Let us now inquire if the Ancient Christians did otherwise The Council of Carthage Tom. 1. p 110. Paris 1574. Ibid. p. 185. in the Year 398. which we have often cited desires in the 1st Canon That the Doctrines of Faith should be taught with simplicity Origen in his 16th Homily upon Leviticus desires the Word may be preached to purpose and that one should accommodate himself to the Capacity of each person in giving Milk to some and strong Meat to others and in the 7th Hom. upon Joshua Ibid. l. 2. p. 393. he advises to shun the beauty pomp and ornament of Rhetorical Philosophers Poets and Writers of the Age of whom Valentine Basilides and Marcian learn'd their Heresies In the 9th Book of his Commentaries on the 12th Chap. of the Epistle to the Romans he saith So much care must not be taken to please the Hearers as to work on their Affections and to inspire into them the love of Vertue observing on this occasion that it often happens that the most Eloquent and sublime Preachers only tickle the Ears with pleasing words of humane Learning but do not work on the heart whereas many times those which study plainess and preach without affectation convert many to the Faith humble the Proud and bring Sinners to repentance St. Busil in his Morals saith several things which agree very well with the Article whose conformity we seek to find with the ancient Discipline of the Primitive Christians For Example Tom. 2. Reg. 70. C. 5 6 7 23 26. That one must not teach otherwise than we have learned in the Gospel that we must preach all things our Saviour has prescrib'd to us in the Gospel and by the Ministry of his Apostles and all things conformable to them That those to whom the preaching of the Gospel is committed should not conceal any thing which is pleasing to God fearing lest they should render them elves guilty of the death of those which perish That the Word of God must not be preach'd for Ostentation nor flatter those which hear it the more to serve our own Pleasure or Conveniencies but act as if we spoke for the glory of God in his presence and that to preach the Gospel one must not make use of any Prerogatives or Advantages that should advance us above others fearing lest the grace of God should be frustrated thereby There can nothing in the World be seen more conformable to our Discipline In the main all I have said on this Article is grounded on the Precepts and Example of St. Paul I say on his Precepts 2 Tim. 1.13 2.14 3.2 Hold fast saith he to Timothy the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus Of these things put them in remembrance charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers Preach the word 2 Tim. 3.3 be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine reproving those who having itching ears make teachers after their own minds 1 Cor. 1.17 2.14 I say in the next place according to his Example for he declares That Jesus Christ sent him not to Baptize but to Preach not with wisdom of Words nor with excellence of Speech and that his Preaching was not in flattering words of humane Wisdom XIII The Churches are warned more frequently to use Catechising and Ministers to treat and Expound it by succinct Questions and Answers simple and familiar accommodating themselves to the Peoples capacity without entring into long Common-place Discourses It is also the duty of Ministers to Catechise each one of their Flock once or twice a year and to exhort every one to come diligently to be Catechised CONFORMITY The Instruction of the People being the End which Jesus Christ proposed in establishing the Ministry of the Word it is worthy the prudence of those which are called to teach others to begin by those things which are the chiefest Essentials of Religion and which are the easiest to be understood as are the fundamental Points of Religion the Summary whereof we have contain'd in the Apostles Creed therefore it was that in the Primitive Church Catechisms were instituted wherein was familiarly explained to the Catechumeny the Doctrines of Heaven the knowledge whereof is necessary to Salvation and without which they could not receive the benefit of Baptism Of this kind for instance are the Catechisms of St. Cyril of Jerusalem wherein he explains the Articles of
Kings of the second Race Dances and Lascivious Songs were absolutely forbidden and it is therein declared that they which shall disobey this Ordinance shall suffer the punishment contain'd in the Cannon alledging for a Reason that they are the remainders of Paganism XXVIII Mommery's and Stage-plays shall not be allowed nor the Ceremony of King Drinks nor Carnavals nor Hocus Pocus slight of Hand and Poppet and Stage players and Christian Magistrates are exhorted not to tolerate them because these things only cause loss of time and entertains Idleness Curiosity and Expence Neither shall it be lawful for Believers to assist at Comedies Tragedies Farces Moralities and other plays acted in publick or in private seeing that in all Ages they have been prohibited amongst Christians as inclining to the corrupting of good Manners especially when the holy Scripture is therein mingled Nevertheless when in Colledges it shall be thought fit that Youth may represent some History it may be tolerated provided it ben't contain'd in the Holy Scripture which is not given to be dally'd with but to be truly Preached also it shall be done but very seldom and by advice of the Colloque which shall first see the composition CONFORMITY There may be apply'd to this Article as to what regards Mummery's the Liberties of Shrovetide and other the like Pastimes what the Fathers have said and done against Christians which allow'd themselves in Libertinism after the Manner of Pagans in the Callends of January that is to say the first day of that Month who used near hand the same Sports now practis'd at Carnaval but to draw to a Conclusion it suffices to refer the Reader to the first Cannon of a Synod at Auxer in the year 578 to a Homily of Maximus Bishop of Turin and a Writer of the V. Century Entituled A Homily on the Circumcision of our Lord or a reprehension of the Callends of January In this Sermon he explains the Follies and Debauches committed by Christians on that day and to what St. Owen writes of St. Eloy in the same Chapter cited on the foregoing Article whereby we find they abandon'd themselves to very great Extravagancy they put on Vizards and put themselves in the shape of sundry Beasts as of Sheep Stags Cows Bears and other Beasts to act with greater Liberty and Freedom until that at last these extravagancies being restrain'd by Ecclesiastical and Civil Laws Christians changed these Follies of the Callends of January to the time a little before Lent as if one were bound to commit Sin to have greater occafion of Repentance As for the rest of the Article which concerns Stage-plays and the Theater the Ancient Doctors of the Church incessantly cry against these worldly pastimes Tertullian and St. Cyprian have writ whole Treatises on purpose to divert Christians from them and has called them spectacles I actantius St. Basil St. Lib. 6. pag. 127. Par. 1669 Cyril of Jerusalem Isidore of Petlusta St. Crysostome St. Austin has highly condemned them and Salvian in his Treatise of Providence doth vehemently exagerate the evils that proceed from them and saith several things as may justly be apply'd to those amongst us as do frequent the Theater and Comedies The third Council of Carthage in the year 388 expresly forbids it in 11th Cannon And the 4th Tom. 1. Conc. pag. 710. which was assembled the year following Excomunicates in the 81th Cannon all those which on a solemn day abandon the assembly of the Church to be present at Stage-plays Ib. p. 730. therefore in another Council under Aurelius the Fathers of Africa resolved to beseech the Emperours to prohibit those worldly divertisments especially on solemn days set apart for the Exercise of Piety and Religion The 6th Oecumenical Council employes to this purpose the 51st Cannon at the end of the 7th Century Ib. c. 28. pag. 915. Thence it is that the Ancient Discipline excomunicates Stage-players Jesters Comedians and all those as mounted on the Theater to show these Divertisments to the people and worldings must not abuse what 's added at the end of the Establishment I examine saving the only scope of it was but sometimes to Exercise Scholars in Colledges XXIX All Playes prohibited by the Kings Edicts as Cards Dice and other Games of hazard and those of cevetousness immodesty scandal or notorious loss of time shall be suppressed and the parties reproved and admonished by the Consistory and Sensured as the Circumstances shall require Lotteries also are not to be allowed whither tolerated by the Magistrate or otherwise CONFORMITY The 6th Tom. 5. Conc. pag. 337. universal Council made this Decree contain'd in the 50th Cannon That no Christian whether of the Clergy or Laity do henceforth play at the game called Hazard and if any be found doing it if of the Clergy that he be deposed but if of the Laity that he be Excommunicated XXX To be present at Feasts and Collations of Weddings at Birth and Marriage of Children made by those of the Romish perswasion is in it self indifferent nevertheless Believers are advertised to use it to Edification and to consider if they are sufficiently able to resist the dissolutions and other evils which may there be committed and also to reprove them In which Feasts are not comprised those made by Priests at their first Mass to which it is not lawful to goe CONFORMITY The Council of Loadicea has proved in the 35th and 54th Cannons against the debauches which may happen at Feasts and has warned Christians not to participate thereof As for the Feasts made by Priests at their first Mass our Discipline had just reason to forbid those of its communion not to be there present because 't would be in some sort a silent approving of a thing which has occasioned one of the greatest causes of our separation from the Romish Church it was by a like principle the Synod of Laodicea prohibited Christians in the 37th 38th 39th Cannons not to communicate of any thing as they were wont to use in the Feasts of Jewes Hereticks and Pagans XXXI It shall be no means be permitted to be present at the Feasts or Weddings of those which to marry a Person of contrary Religion shall revolt from the profession of the Gospel As for those which have been a good while revolted or are wholly Papists it is at the discretion of Believers to do what they shall in Wisdom think convenient CONFORMITY What I have observed at the end of the former Article may be applyed to this XXXII Those which challenge or cause to be challenged to Duel or that being challenged accept it and even kill their Adversasaries although they might obtain their pardon or be otherwise claered shall be sensured to the being suspended from the Lords Supper which suspension shall be speedily published and if they desire to be received to the peace of the Church they must make publick confession of their Crime CONFORMITY Duels being expresly condemn'd by