Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

XXXVI.

De civilibus Magistratibus. Rex Angliæ est supremum caput in terris, post Christum, Ecclesiæ Anglicans & Hibernicæ.

Romanus Pontifex nullam habet jurisdictionem in hoc Regno Angliæ. Magistratus civilis est a Deo ordinatus atque probatus, quamobrem illi, non solum propter iram, sed etiam, propter conscientiam, obediendum est.

Leges civiles possunt Christianos propter capitalia & gravia crimina morte punire.

Christianis licet ex mandato Magistratus arma portare & justa bella administrare.

XXXVII.

Christianorum bona non sunt
communia.

Facultates et bona Christianorum non sunt communia, quoad jus et possessionem, ut quidam Anabaptistæ falso jactant; debet tamen quisque de his quæ possidet pro facultatum ratione, pauperibus eleemosynas benigne distribuere.

XXXVIII.

Licet Christianis jurare. Quemadmodum juramentum vanum & temerarium a Domino

XXXVI.

Of Ciuile magistrates.

The king of Englande is Supreme head in earth, nexte vnder Christe, of the Churche of Englande, and Jrelande.

The Bishoppe of Rome hath no iurisdiction in this Realme of Englande.

The ciuile Magistrate is ordeined, and allowed of God: wherefore we must obeie him, not onely for feare of punishment, but also for conscience sake.

The ciuile lawes maie punishe Christien men with death, for heinous, and grieuous offences.

It is lawefull for Christians, at the commaundement of the Magistrate, to weare weapons, and to serue in laweful wares.

XXXVII.

Christien mennes gooddes are not

commune.

The richesse and gooddes of christians are not commune, as touching the right title and possession of the same (as certain anabaptistes dooe falslie boaste); notwithstanding euery man ought of such thinges as he possesseth, liberallie to geue almes to the pore, according to his habilitie.

XXXVIII.

Christien menne maie take an Othe.

As we confesse that vaine, and rashe swearing is forbed Christien

nostro Jesu Christo & ab Apostolo ejus Jacobo, Christianis hominibus interdictum esse fatemur, ita Christianum religionem minime prohibere censemus, quin jubente Magistratu, in causa fidei & charitatis jurare liceat, modo id fiat juxta Prophetæ doctrinam, in Justitia, in Judicio et veritate.

men by our Lorde Jesu Christ, and his Apostle James: so we iudge that christien religion doeth not prohibite, but that a man maie sweare, when the magistrate requireth in a cause of faith, and charitie, so it bee doen (according to the Prophetes teaching) in iustice, iudgemente, and trueth.

XXXIX.

Ressurrectio mortuorum nondum est facta.

Resurrectio mortuorum non adhuc facta est, quasi tantum ad animum pertineat qui per Christi gratiam a morte peccatorum excitetur, sed extremo die quoad omnes qui obierunt, expectanda est; tunc enim vita defunctis (ut Scripturae manifestissime testantur) propria corpora, carnes & ossa restituentur, ut homo integer, prout vel recte vel perdite vixerit, juxta sua opera, sive præmia sive pœnas reportet.

XXXIX.

The Resurrection of the dead is not yeat brought to passe.

The Resurrection of the dead is not as yet brought to passe, as though it only belonged to the soulle, whiche by the grace of Christe is raised from the death of sinne, but it is to be loked for at the last daie: for then (as Scripture doeth moste manifestlie testifie) to all that bee dead their awne bodies, fleshe, and bone shalbe restored, that the whole man maie (according to his workes) haue other rewarde, or punishment, as he hath liued vertuouslie, or wickedlie.

XL.

Defunctorum animæ neque сит corporibus intereunt, neque otiose dormiunt.

Qui animas defunctorum prædicant usque ad diem judicii absque omni sensu dormire, aut illas asserunt una cum corporibus mori, & extrema die cum illis excitandas, ab orthodoxa fide, quæ nobis in sacris literis traditur, prorsus dissentiunt.

XL.

The soulles of them that departe this life doe neither die with the bodies, nor sleep idlie.

Thei whiche saie, that the soulles of suche as depart hens doe sleepe, being without al sence, fealing or perceiuing vntil the daie of iudgement, or affirme that the soulles die with the bodies, and at the laste daie shalbe raised vp with the same, doe vtterlie dissent from the right beliefe declared to vs in holie Scripture.

[blocks in formation]

ARTICLE I

De Fide in Sacrosanctam

Trinitatem.

Unus est vivus et verus Deus, æternus, incorporeus, impartibilis, impassibilis, immense potentiæ, sapientiæ, ac bonitatis: Creator et conservator omnium tum visibilium tum invisibilium. Et in unitate hujus divinæ naturæ tres sunt Personæ, ejusdem essentiæ, potentiæ, ac æternitatis, Pater, Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus.

Of Faith in the Holy
Trinity.

There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts or passions, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

THIS first Article has remained without any alteration since the publication of the Forty-Two Articles of Edward VI. in 1553, in which series it occupied the same position as it does in our own set. Its language may be traced ultimately to the Confession of Augsburg,1 the terms of which on this subject were adopted almost verbatim in the Thirteen Articles of 1538, agreed upon by a jointcommittee of Anglican and Lutheran Divines. The same language re-appears also in the Reformatio Legum Ecclesiasticarum, De Summa Trinitate et Fide Catholica, cap. 2.

1 Art. 1. "De Deo.-Ecclesiæ magno consensu apud nos docent decretum Nicenæ Synodi, de unitate essentiæ, et de tribus personis, verum et sine ulla dubitatione credendum esse. Videlicet, quod sit una essentia divina, quæ appellatur et est Deus æternus, incorporeus, impartibilis, immensa potentia, sapientia, bonitate, Creator et Conservator omnium rerum visibilium et invisibilium, et tamen tres sint personæ ejusdem essentiæ et potentiæ, et coæterna, Pater, Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus: et nomine personæ utuntur ea significatione qui usi sunt in hac causa scriptores ecclesiastici, ut significet non partem aut qualitatem in alio, sed quod proprie subsistit." The words in italics are repeated almost verbatim in our own article.

The need of such an Article as this is shown by the formidable spread of Anabaptism in this country as well as on the Continent. Contemporary documents show how very many of the Anabaptists had lost all faith in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Some were reviving the Sabellian heresy, and denying that there was more than one Person in the Godhead; others were teaching a form of Arianism, denying the Divinity of the Second Person, while others again maintained that Christ was "a

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

The Article falls into two main divisions. The first part treats of the existence of God, and the "necessary doctrine of the divine unity. The second speaks of the mode of God's existence, and the distinctions within the divine nature.

The statement in the first part, that there is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible, expresses a belief which is not peculiar to Christianity, but is common to both natural and revealed religion, and is held by every serious Theist, as well as every believer in the Christian revelation. It is not therefore a doctrine

1 The reality of the danger and the character of the heresies prevalent is shown by the closing words of the Article in the Confession of Augsburg: "Damnant omnes hæreses, contra hunc Articulum exortas, ut Manichæos, qui duo principia ponebant, bonum et malum. Item Valentinianos, Arianos, Eunomianos, Mahometistas, et omnes horum similes. Damnant et Samosatenos, veteres et neotericos, qui, cum tantum unam personam esse contendant, de verbo et de Spiritu Sancto astute et impie rhetoricantur, quod non sint personæ distinctæ, sed quod Verbum significet verbum vocale, et Spiritus motum in rebus creatum."

2 By saying that the unity of God is "necessary" it is meant that the contrary is inconceivable. 'Two prime causes are unimaginable, and for all things to depend of one, and to be more independent beings than one is a clear contradiction."-Pearson On the Creed, Article 1, ch. ii. § 13.

« FöregåendeFortsätt »