women, and children, above the age of thirteen years, and how many being popishly given (who, though they come to the church, yet do refuse to receive the communion), are inhabitants, or make their abode, either as sojourners or common guests, in any of their several parishes; and shall set down their true names in writing (if they can learn them), or otherwise such names as for the time they carry, distinguishing the absolute recusants from half recusants; and the same, so far as they know or believe, so distinguished and set down under their hands, shall truly present to their ordinaries, before the feast of the Nativity next ensuing, under pain of suspension, to be inflicted upon them by their said ordinaries; and so every year hereafter, upon the like pain, before the feast of St. John Baptist. Also we ordain, That all such ordinaries, chancellors, commissaries, archdeacons, officials, and all other ecclesiastical officers to whom the said presentments shall be exhibited, shall likewise, within one month after the receipt of the same, under pain of suspension by the bishop from the execution of their office for the space of half a year, as often as they shall offend therein, deliver them, or cause them to be delivered, to the bishop, respectively; who shall also exhibit them to the archbishop within six weeks, and the archbishop to his majesty, within other six weeks after he hath received the said presentments.

CXV. Ministers and Churchwardens not to be sued for presenting.

Whereas, for the reformation of criminous persons and disorders in every parish, the church-wardens, quest-men, side-men, and such other church officers are sworn, and the minister charged to present as well the crimes and disorders committed by the said criminous persons, as also the common fame which is spread abroad of them, whereby they are often maligned, and sometimes troubled by the said delinquents, or their friends; we do admonish and exhort all judges, both ecclesiastical and temporal, as they regard and reverence the fearful judgment-seat of the highest Judge, that they admit not in any of their courts any complaint, plea, suit, or suits, against any such church-wardens, quest-men, side-men, or other church officers, for making any such presentments, nor against any minister for any presentment that he shall make; all the said presentments tending to the restraint of shameless impiety, and considering that the rules both of charity and government do presume, that they did nothing therein of malice, but for the discharge of their consciences.

CXVI Churchwardens not bound to present oftener than twice a Year.

No church-wardens, quest-men, or side-men of any parish shall be enforced to exhibit their presentments to any having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, above once in every year, where it hath been no oftener used, nor above twice in any diocese whatsoever, except it be at the bishop's visitation. For the which presentments of every parish church or chapel, the registrar of any court, where they are to be exhibited, shall not receive in one year above fourpence, under pain, for every offence therein, of suspension from the execution of his office for the space of a month, toties quoties. Provided always, That, as good occasion shall require, it shall be lawful for every minister, church-wardens, and side-men to present offenders as oft as they shall think meet; and likewise for any godly disposed person, or for any ecclesiastical judge, upon knowledge, or notice given unto him or them of any enormous crime within his jurisdiction, to move the minister, church-wardens, or side-men, as they tender the glory of God and reformation of sin, to present the same, if they shall find sufficient cause to induce them thereunto, that it may be in due time punished and reformed. Provided, That for these voluntary presentments there be no fee required or taken of them, under the pain aforesaid.

CXVII. Churchwardens not to be troubled for not presenting oftener than twice a Year.

No church-wardens, quest-men, or side-men, shall be called or cited, but only at the said time or times before limited, to appear before any ecclesiastical judge whosoever, for refusing at other times to present any faults committed in their parishes, and punishable by ecclesiastical laws. Neither shall they, nor any of them, after their presentments exhibited at any of those times, be any further troubled for the same, except upon manifest and evident proof it may appear, that they did then willingly and wittingly omit to present some such public crime or crimes as they knew to be committed, or could not be ignorant that there was then a public fame of them; or unless there be very just cause to call them for the explanation of their former presentments. In which case of wilful omission, their ordinaries shall proceed against them in such sort, as in causes of wilful perjury in a court ecclesiastical it is already by law provided.

CXVIII. The old Churchwardens to make their Presentments before the new be sworn.

The office of all church-wardens and side-men shall be reputed ever hereafter to continue until the new church-wardens that shall succeed them be sworn, which shall be the first week after Easter, or some week following, according to the direction of the ordinary. Which time so appointed shall always be one of the two times in every year, when the minister, and church-wardens, and side-men of every parish shall exhibit to their several ordinaries the presentments of such enormities as have happened in their parishes since their last presentments. And this duty they shall perform before the newly chosen church-wardens and sidemen be sworn, and shall not be suffered to pass over the said presentments to those that are newly come into office, and are by intendment ignorant of such crimes; under pain of those censures which are appointed for the reformation of such dalliers and dispensers with their own consciences and oaths.

CXIX. Convenient time to be assigned for framing Pre

sentments.

For the avoiding of such inconveniences as heretofore have happened by the hasty making of bills of presentments upon the days of the visitations and synods, it is ordered, That always hereafter every chancellor, archdeacon, commissary, and official, and every other person having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, at the ordinary time when the church-wardens are sworn; and the archbishops and bishops, when he or they do summon their visitation, shall deliver, or cause to be delivered to the church-wardens, quest-men, and side-men of every parish, or to some of them, such books of articles as they, or any of them, shall require, for the year following, the said church-wardens, questmen, and side-men, to ground their presentments upon, at such times as they are to exhibit them. In which book shall be contained the form of the oath, which must be taken immediately before every such presentment; to the intent that, having beforehand time sufficient, not only to peruse and consider what their said oath shall be, but the articles also whereupon they are to ground their presentments, they may frame them at home both advisedly and truly, to the discharge of their own consciences, after they are sworn, as becometh honest and godly men.

CXX. None to be cited into Ecclesiastical Courts by Process of Quorum Nomina.

No bishop, chancellor, archdeacon, official, or other ecclesiastical judge, shall suffer any general processes of quorum nomina to be sent out of his court; except the names of all such as thereby are to be cited shall be first expressly entered by the hand of the registrar, or his deputy, under the said process, and the said processes and names be first subscribed by the judge, or his deputy, and his seal thereto affixed.

CXXI. None to be cited into several Courts for one Crime.

;

In places where the bishop and archdeacon do by prescription or composition visit at several times in one and the same year, lest for one and the selfsame fault any of his majesty's subjects should be challenged and molested in divers ecclesiastical courts we order and appoint, That every archdeacon, or his official, within one month after the visitation ended that year, and the presentments received, shall certify under his hand and seal to the bishop, or his chancellor, the names and crimes of all such as are detected and presented in his said visitation, to the end the chancellor shall thenceforth forbear to convent any person for any crime or cause so detected or presented to the archdeacon. And the chancellor within the like time after the bishop's visitation ended, and presentments received, shall under his hand and seal signify to the archdeacon, or his official, the names and crimes of all such persons which shall be detected or presented unto him in that visitation, to the same intent as is aforesaid. And if these officers shall not certify each other, as is here prescribed, or after such certificate shall intermeddle with the crimes or persons detected and presented in each other's visitation; then every of them so offending shall be suspended from all exercise of his jurisdiction by the bishop of the diocese, until he shall repay the costs and expenses which the parties grieved have been at by that vexation.

CXXII. No Sentence of Deprivation or Deposition to be pronounced against a Minister, but by the Bishop.

When any minister is complained of in any ecclesiastical court belonging to any bishop of his province, for any crime, the chancellor, commissary, official, or any other having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, to whom it shall appertain, shall expedite the cause

by processes and other proceedings against him: and upon contumacy, for not appearing, shall first suspend him; and afterward, his contumacy continuing, excommunicate him. But if he appear, and submit himself to the course of law, then the matter being ready for sentence, and the merits of his offence exacting by law either deprivation from his living, or deposition from the ministry, no such sentence shall be pronounced by any person whosoever, but only by the bishop, with the assistance of his chancellor, the dean (if they may conveniently be had), and some of the prebendaries, if the court be kept near the cathedral church, or of the archdeacon, if he may be had conveniently, and two other at the least grave ministers and preachers, to be called by the bishop, when the court is kept in other places.

CXXIII. No Act to be sped but in open Court.

No chancellor, commissary, archdeacon, official, or any other person using ecclesiastical jurisdiction whosoever, shall speed any judicial act, either of contentious or voluntary jurisdiction, except he have the ordinary registrar of that court, or his lawful deputy: or if he or they will not, or cannot, be present, then such persons as by law are allowed in that behalf to write or speed the same, under pain of suspension ipso facto.

CXXIV. No Court to have more than one Seal.

No chancellor, commissary, archdeacon, official, or any other exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, shall without the bishop's consent have any more seals than one, for the sealing of all matters incident to his office; which seal shall always be kept either by himself, or by his lawful substitute exercising jurisdiction for him, and remaining within the jurisdiction of the said judge, or in the city or principal town of the county. This seal shall contain the title of that jurisdiction, which every of the said judges or their deputies do execute.

CXXV. Convenient Places to be chosen for the keeping of Courts.

All chancellors, commissaries, archdeacons, officials, and all other exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, shall appoint such meet places for the keeping of their courts, by the assignment or approbation of the bishop of the diocese, as shall be convenient for entertainment of those that are to make their appearance there, and most indifferent for their travel. And likewise they