"Narratives of the Reformation" by John Foxe (1516-1587)

Narratives of the Reformation by John Foxe (1516-1587), an oddly indifferent issue for American Anglicans, is discoverable at:
http://archive.org/details/narrativesofdays77foxeuoft

ABC Thomas Cranmer's Alma Mater: Jesus College, Cambridge

At age fourteen in 1503, Cranmer began collegiate studies at Jesus College, Cambridge.  He maintained connections with Cambridge until his death in 1556.

A virtual tour of the Chapel at Jesus College, Cambridge:

http://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/virtual-tour.html

The Chapel Court at Jesus College, Cambridge:

http://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/virtual-tour.html

The “First Court” at Jesus College, Cambridge:

http://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/virtual-tour.html

The following information is provided on the Chapel and Choir, to wit:

“Jesus College Chapel exists for the glory of God, and has been used for worship since the twelfth century. It is open during the day for prayer and quietness, and all members of the College community, whatever their religious beliefs, are welcome to visit the Chapel and to attend any of the services, taking from them what they can. The Anglican tradition is designed to be accessible to those from a wide range of backgrounds. The two Choirs enrich the worship of the Chapel at four evensongs each week, and for these more formal occasions members of the College are encouraged to wear their gowns.”    See:  http://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/chapel-choir/

Additional information on this history of the Chapel, to wit, at:  http://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/chapel-choir/history-of-the-chapel-2/

“Jesus College Chapel is the oldest college chapel in Cambridge and it is unique in that it was not originally designed as a college chapel, since it precedes the foundation of the college by three and a half centuries, and the university by more than half a century. It was originally a large Norman church dedicated to St Mary which served the twelfth-century Benedictine convent of St Radegund, which is why the plan of the present chapel, like that of the cloisters that surround it, has a conventual rather than a collegiate character (1). It also served as the church of the parish of St Radegund which grew up around the convent, which was at that time a semi-rural area located just outside the city of Cambridge: a charter of 113 from Nigellus, the second Bishop of Ely, refers to ‘the nuns of the little cell lately instituted without the town of Cantebruge’. (2)

The church took about a century to build, being begun about 1157 and completed about 1245, and it was at that time the largest church in Cambridge, being about 58 metres in length and of cathedral-like proportions. Like the modern chapel, it was built in the form of a cross, though with aisles to the north and south of chancel and nave, with a high pitched roof, and was surmounted by a belfry or steeple which was visible for miles around. In 1277 the belfry collapsed, and in 1313 and again in 1376, devastating fires destroyed much of the surrounding convent but largely spared the church itself, causing only some discoloration to the tower. The church itself fell into some degree of dilapidation due to the convent’s lack of funds to repair the fabric of the building.

When the convent of St Radegund was dissolved in 1496 by John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, and a new college was founded in its place, the conventual church of St Mary was rededicated to the name of Jesus and part of the church was demolished and the remaining portion was drastically modified. Alcock, who was an architect as well as a bishop, having been Comptroller of the Royal Works and Buildings under Henry VII and having designed parts of Ely Cathedral and Great St Mary’s church in Cambridge, himself designed many of these alterations, which were intended to create a chapel that was more suitable in scale for a small community of scholars than the existing church. The beginning of this work on the new chapel was superintended by one of Alcock’s friends, William Plombe, who was one of the original fellows of the college, in 1497-98. After Alcock’s death in 1500, the work was continued by some other friends of Alcock, Dr William Chubbes, the first master of the college, and the architects Sir John Rysley and Sir Reginald Bray. The reconstruction took considerable time, since Sir John Rysley, who died in 1512, bequeathed £160 towards its completion (3).

The chancel chapels and the aisles of the nave of the church were pulled down and the cloisters were enlarged. The new cloisters were enclosed by walls that contained four windows in the Perpendicular style. The dilapidated belfry was taken down and the high-pitched roofs of the church were replaced by a lower-pitched flat roof with an oak ceiling. The lancet windows in the eastern wall were replaced by a plain Perpendicular window. Two thirds of what had been the nave of the church were replaced by college rooms, which subsequently became part of the eastern wing of the Master’s Lodge, and the chapels on the north and south sides of the choir were pulled down and the northern aisles became part of the cloister: the original columns are still embedded in the wall. The screen which had divided the monastic from the parochial at the west end of the crossing was replaced by a more open screen at the east side. The thirteenth-century arches which had divided the aisles from the nave were either pulled down to make way for the college rooms or were blocked off with stone and concealed with plaster. The four arches in the chancel and the two arches in the north transept were all filled in and covered over and in the new walls they placed Perpendicular windows. In the south transept, the eastern arch was also filled in and covered over, two Perpendicular windows were inserted in the eastern and western walls and a very large Perpendicular window was inserted in the southern wall (4).

Thus St Mary’s church became Jesus chapel. For the time being, it continued to serve as the church of the parish (soon to be renamed ‘Jesus parish’) and it was used for baptisms and marriages, and ‘Jesus churchyard’ was used for the burial of the dead, during the first half of the sixteenth century. The last mention of ‘Jesus parish’ is in a deed of 1552 and it seems to have gradually lapsed into obsolescence, being subsequently incorporated into the parish of All Saints. The western end of ‘Jesus churchyard’ was separated off early in the history of the college to form the Master’s garden. The remainder eventually ceased to be used as a burial ground and came to be known as ‘Fair Close’, because an annual fair was held there every August for much of the sixteenth century. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the rest of the former churchyard had been transformed into the fellows’ garden and the orchard.

The furnishings and rituals of the chapel underwent the usual vicissitudes and reversals of fortune due to the religious reforms and counter-reforms of the sixteenth century; in 1549, during the period of Protestant iconoclasm under Edward VI, the royal Visitors destroyed six altars in the chapel and some images in the Master’s Lodge. During the Catholic restoration that followed in the reign of Mary, Dr. John Fuller was appointed Master, in 1557, and he restored the old ritual and ornaments in the chapel. During the reign of Elizabeth, the college fellowship became decidedly Protestant, although not Puritan, in its sympathies and the elaborateness (and expense) of the services in the chapel was greatly reduced, and the ornaments that had been replaced in the chapel were again removed, although the organ was allowed to remain until 1585 (5). James I was a frequent visitor to Cambridge and to Jesus College, in particular, and he worshipped in the college chapel when he visited the city. In 1617, James’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and an alumnus of Jesus, Sir Fulke Greville, planned to fill in the nave of the chapel and create new college rooms to cater for the continually expanding membership of the college. Fortunately, this scheme was never carried out. In 1634, under the Mastership of Dr Richard Sterne, a new organ was purchased and an organist was employed to play it and, in 1636, new furniture, plate and candlesticks for the altar were purchased, in the spirit of the High Church reforms of Archbishop Laud. At this period, the college was known as a stronghold of the High Church party in the University and the chapel services were renowned for ‘good music, elaborate solemnity and attractive decency’ (6).

With the coming of the Civil War, the college became embroiled in the dispute between the King and Parliament. In 1641, the House of Commons issued an order to all the heads of colleges ‘to displace the Communion table from the east end of their chapels, to take away the rails and level the chancel, and to remove crucifixes, tapers, and basins from the Communion table’ (7), so that the fellows found themselves obliged to banish all the new furnishings that they had so recently purchased to refurnish their chapel. The fellows were then required by Charles I to raise a loan of £100 and to send pieces of the college plate to his camp in York. Part of the plate was seized by Cromwell’s men before it could be conveyed out of Cambridge, but most of it was successfully conveyed to York, for which the Master, Richard Sterne, and the former Master, William Beale, were arrested by Cromwell in the course of a service in the chapel and taken to the Tower of London. The organ in the chapel was taken to pieces and hidden by the fellows and the college plate which had not been sent to the King’s camp was buried in the orchard. At Christmas 1643, William Dowsing, a puritan iconoclast, who was commissioned by Parliament to purge the churches and chapels of Cambridge of their ‘monuments of superstition’ visited the college and ‘digg’d up the Steps there and brake down Superstitions of Saints and Angels, 120 at the least’ (8). The following year all the fellows, except for two, were ejected from the college and Richard Sterne was deposed from the Mastership. In 1659 a bell was purchased for the belfry. At the Restoration, the interior of the chapel was repaired and restored to its former beauty by the new masters, Dr John Pearson and Dr Joseph Beaumont, between 1660 and 1663, and the organ was rebuilt and reinstated in the chapel. In 1676, the chapel was paved with black and white marble and some time between 1660 and 1680 a gallery was built in the chancel which faced towards the altar. The remains of a classical entrance still to be seen on the south wall from the walk through to the new library may well date from this time.

By contrast with the preceding period, the early eighteenth century was an uneventful period in the history of the college and very few additions or even repairs to the chapel seem to have been made. However, between 1762 and 1765, the piers and arches of the cloisters were demolished and rebuilt to designs by James Essex (9). The use of the organ in the chapel was also discontinued during this period and the organ was dismantled and given to the parish of All Saints (and the casework may now be seen in Little Bardfield church in Essex). In the 1780s, the perpendicular east window in the chancel was rebuilt and, between 1789 and 1792, a major restoration of the chapel was undertaken in order to bring the architecture into accord with the reigning Classical ideal in architecture. In the chancel, the sixteenth century stalls and some sections of the old carved woodwork from the pulpit and the screen were removed and a partition wall of plaster was built to block off the eastern arch of the tower, above the gallery and entrance of the choir, which was adorned with Ionic pillars. The oak roof of the chancel, with which Alcock had replaced the original high-pitched roof, was now hidden by a new flat plaster ceiling and another plaster ceiling was built across the open square of the tower to hide the roof-storey gallery. About thirteen years later, the external walls of the chapel were overlaid with cement and the battlements and the mouldings of the windows were similarly repaired (10).

The nineteenth century saw major new restoration work on the chapel, inspired by the new spirit of the Gothic revival, which was carried out between 1846 and 1849, and which largely reversed the earlier repairs. The main instigators of this new restoration were the Rev. John Gibson, then Dean of the College, who was responsible for issuing an appeal to old members of the college and was appointed treasurer of the restoration fund, and a notable Victorian geologist, the Rev. Osmond Fisher. Their aim was to restore the ritual as well as the architecture of the chapel, including the restoration of music to the chapel services through the purchase of an organ and the reinstatement of the choir. The new organ was designed and purchased in 1849 by John Sutton, a fellow commoner of the college and a musician, who devoted much of his career at Jesus to writing a book on the subject of organs, and who served as the college organist and published a collection of anthems for use in the chapel.. He also instituted a choir school in the college and taught the boys himself (11).

Under the direction of Anthony Salvin, who had recently undertaken a controversial restoration of the Round Church, the eighteenth century partition wall in the chancel arch was removed in 1846, along with the gallery on its eastern side, and a new combined organ chamber and vestry was built on the eastern side of the northern transept. The two arches which opened into the choir were rediscovered and unblocked, together with the two arches which opened upon the north transept below the gallery. The re-opening of the arches of the northern chapel seriously weakened the north-eastern pier of the tower and the removal of its upper story was debated. However, the tower was eventually strengthened by filling the two arches below the gallery with heavy tracery, uniting those in the chancel with a low solid screen of stone and building a heavy buttress in the vestry. The upper story of the tower was also strengthened with heavy iron bolts. These repairs were carried out on the advice of the architect Augustus Pugin (famous for his work on the Houses of Parliament) who was a close friend of John Sutton and who had come down to Cambridge to take the measurements for the organ chamber. On Sutton’s recommendation, the college also decided to employ Pugin to direct the continuing programme of the restoration of the chapel (12).

In the north transept, the Norman windows that were embedded in the north wall were rediscovered. They were preserved as recessed arches and the whole wall was restored. New stalls and a new pavement were also supplied for the chancel. Pugin removed both the eighteenth century plaster ceiling and Alcock’s low-pitched roof which he replaced by a high-pitched roof, in a thirteenth-century style. He also rebuilt the choir stalls and the eastern wall and removed Alcock’s Perpendicular east window, replacing it with three tall lancet windows; archaeological evidence had been unearthed in the course of the restoration that showed that this was the original form that the windows had taken. Pugin installed stained glass windows of his own design in 1850 and the other windows were later glazed, in the same style, between 1850 and 1858. The newly purchased organ was installed in the organ chamber and on All Saints’ Day 1849 the chapel was re-opened with a full choral service (13).

In 1862, cracks began to appear in the arches and piers of the tower and further repairs were carried out between 1864 and 1867 by George F.Bodley, who was also working simultaneously on All Saints’ Church, opposite the entrance to the college. The tower was refaced and restored, a solid buttress was built for its support in the south-east corner of the Master’s garden and a wrought iron rod was placed above the choir screen. Decorations for the newly-panelled ceilings of the nave and the tower were designed by William Morris and painted under his direction in 1867; and between 1873 and 1877 the windows in the nave and transepts of the chapel were glazed by Morris and Company from designs by Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Madox Brown. A larger and more powerful organ was purchased to replace Sutton’s organ in 1887 and was installed in a new gallery at the west end of the nave. Thus by the end of the century the chapel had attained its present proportions and appearance, in which the Norman original, together with Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular elements, Essex’s eighteenth century cloisters and Pugin’s and Burne-Jones’ nineteenth century restorations combine to form this remarkable building (14).

The twentieth century saw the abolition of compulsory chapel, and the consequent removal of the organ and gallery from the west end of the nave – though the gallery may still be seen over the road at Westcott House. The organist cum schoolmaster was replaced by an organ scholar in 1919, and the twentieth century has seen some distinguished church musicians having their early training at the college. Though the fixtures and fittings have remained much as they were at the outbreak of the Great War, several restorations, the most recent in 2004, have revealed more of the glories of the building, especially with the more advanced lighting systems available to us now. Of particular interest was the uncovering of work on the north wall of the nave, which gives every appearance of being William Morris’s demonstration of what the walls would look like if decorated – the fellows, preferring a more austere finish, demurred, and it remained covered in whitewash for over 130 years.

A further enrichment of the college’s distinguished choral tradition will take place during the course of 2006, thanks to a generous benefaction, with the installation of a new organ to replace the Mander of 1969, by Kuhn of Switzerland. As the college now has two choirs, of men, women and boys, and a full time director of chapel music, this will be a great asset indeed.

References

1.                 Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.2

2.                 Ray, N: Cambridge architecture: a concise guide (1994), p.33

3.                 Sikes, J and Jones, F: Victoria History of the counties of England Vol 3: Cambridgeshire (1959), p.421

4.                 Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.107

5.                 Sikes, J and Jones, F: Victoria History of the counties of England Vol.3: Cambridgeshire (1959), p.424

6.                 Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.197

7.                 Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.184

8.                 Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.194

9.                 Webster, H and Howard, P: Cambridge: an architectural guide (2000), Part 4, p. 44

10.            Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.254

11.            Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.295

12.            Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.300

13.            Morgan, I and G: The stones and story of Jesus Chapel Cambridge (1914), p.307

14.            Ray, N: Cambridge architecture: a concise guide (1994), p.34

St. John of Beverly, Whatton, Nottingshire: Cranmer's Home Parish

John Cranmer, father of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, was buried here in 1501.

http://www.oldnotts.co.uk/churches/whatton.htm

St John of Beverley, Whatton

ABC Thomas Cranmer's Home Parish: St. John of Beverly, Whatton, Nottinghamshire

A lovely, excellent and scholarly piece on Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Of note, the church where Cranmer was baptized is (likely to be) St. John of Beverly, Whatton, UK.   We would like to see certified copies of the records, e.g. baptism, marriages, burials.  Aslockton and Whatton, two hamlets, are approximately 122 miles near due north of London. The church has an inscription on a floor for the Archbishop's father, John Cranmer, who died in 1501 when Thomas was twelve. It would appear that John Cranmer's modest will or estate was adjudicated or approved in York (ecclesiastical courts?). Other Cranmer names appear in the documentary records of this old Anglican and Catholic Church of the Reformation. Here's a lovely article in re our esteemed Reformed and Protestant Father in the faith.
Here is the article.

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/Brown1896/aslockton.htm

Aslockton and Whatton

Cranmer's Mound, Aslockton,
is a well preserved motte
still standing 16ft high.
Two rectangular platforms
surrounded
by broad ditches lie to
the south-east of the mound:
these may be the sites of
later houses of the Cramners.

ASLOCKTON is justly proud of its old associations; at all events, it makes the most of them and of the title to lasting fame which its connection with the Cranmers gives it. One of its inns bears the name of the Cranmer Arms, and the inhabitants will promptly point out to the visitor interested in such matters the site of Cranmer’s house, and a mound on which tradition says he was wont to sit to listen to the sweet music of the bells of Whatton Church. The spot on which the Archbishop’s residence stood is occupied by a modern house of a substantial type, and all traces of very old buildings have long since departed from the village, save the thick stone walls of an ancient chapel, which are visible under a house of brick and tile. The edifice is known locally as Cranmer’s Chapel, and on that account, as well as from its interest as the site of a religious foundation, most antiquarian visitors readily avail themselves of the permission of its courteous occupier to inspect its ancient arches and walls.

St John of Beverley church,
Whatton, in Nottinghamshire.
The church was "over-restored"
in the 19th century.
(A. Nicholson, 2000). Thomas,
his two brothers, and four sisters
were probably baptized here.
His father, John,
is described in the article.

The church in the adjoining village of Whatton was that to which the Aslockton people mostly went, and it is here we must look for the burial-place of the Cranmers, and for any memorials of them that exist. Fortunately, there is still to be seen a fine incised slab in excellent preservation to the memory of no less a personage than the father of the Archbishop. It is inserted in the floor of the north aisle, and forms an interesting object in what is undoubtedly one of the most attractive of our village churches. Near to the Cranmer slab is a stone altar-tomb, bearing the figure of a cross-legged knight in armour (Sir Richard de Whatton, temp. Edward II.), and under an arch in the north wall the effigy of a priest with curled hair. The remains of the village cross are also preserved in the church, which has been restored with great skill and judgment.

We must not stay to describe the objects of interest in this beautiful church further than to quote the inscription on the Cranmer slab as follows: ‘Hic jacet Thomas Cranmer, armiger, qui obiit vicesimo septirno die mensis Maii, anno dni. MD centesimo primo, cui (cujus) aie (anime) ppcietur (propitietur) Deus. Amen.’ The arms upon it are: ‘A chevron between three cranes—Cranmer. Arg. on five fusels in fesse, gules, each an escallop or— Aslacton.’ The figure is that of a man in flowing hair and gown, and a purse at his right side.

Archbishop Thomas
Cramner
(1489-1556)

In the parish registers are various entries of the baptisms and deaths of members of the family. Ralph Morice, the private secretary of the Archbishop, has left behind him some interesting notes of his eminent master, in which he gives colour to the belief that the first of the family to settle in this country came into the realm with William the Conqueror. Prior to their appearance in Nottinghamshire they lived at Lutterton, and occupied a good position there. By the marriage of Edward Cranmer with the heiress of the Aslocktons they assumed the arms of the latter. Thomas Cranmer, whose slab we have described, married Agnes, daughter of Laurance Hatfield, of Willoughby, Notts, and resided at the old manor-house at Aslockton. Their second son became Archbishop, and though we do not know much of his youthful days a few details have been collected in Strype’s ‘Memorials.’


Whether the future Archbishop was educated by the parish priest, or whether he went to a grammar school in any of the towns of the neighbourhood, is a matter of speculation. Morice says that when he went to Cambridge he left ‘a grammar school’ to go there. But if not trained at home in literature and the arts, he received in the open fields of this broad stretch of country what was of great importance to him in after-life, an efficient knowledge of outdoor exercises and pastimes, and the foundations of a strong constitution. ‘His father used him to shoot with the long-bow, and let him hunt and hawk and ride rough horses.’ Shortly after the funeral of his father at Whatton, in 1501, his mother sent him at fourteen years of age to Jesus College, Cambridge. His subsequent career is a matter of general history, and need not be dwelt upon here.

Leland speaks of Aslockton and the ‘heire of the Cranmers,’ the Archbishop’s elder brother, and it would be to his house that the martyr resorted when visiting the neighbourhood. He had, however, some property here, as appears by an entry in the State Papers, dated 1528, five years prior to his elevation to the episcopal bench.

In 1547 Edward VI. granted to the Archbishop for the sum of £429 13s. the rectories of Whatton and Aslockton, with the advowson of the churches, both belonging to Welbeck Abbey. After his death the property passed to his nephew Thomas, and subsequently to Thomas Molyneux, who married Alice Cranmer, daughter and heiress. The son of Thomas Molyneux, a Sir John Molyneux, Bart., sold the estate, and Aslockton and the Cranmer family thus became finally severed.

Memorial Day Weekend 2012: From Ken Howes

A Memorial for 2012 from Ken Howes, friend of Reformational and Lutheran thought.  Here are some memorials to Ken's predecessors on Memorial Day Weekend 2012.

 

          "My paternal great-great grandfathers: Arthur B. Fuller, chaplain, 19th Massachusetts, killed at Fredericksburg; James R. Howes, 10th Massachusetts, wounded at Fair Oaks; Arthur Cain, wounded at Spotsylvania Court House; and Rufus Dawes, commander, 6th Wisconsin. My great-uncle, Kenneth Eliot Fuller, killed in action in France, 1918. Members of our family have served since 1620, and fought in every war since 1704. Dr. Samuel Howes treated the wounded after the Deerfield Massacre; other family members participated in the taking of Louisbourg; William Dawes rode on the Midnight Ride; Timothy Fuller was a chaplain for a Massachusetts regiment in the Revolution; my father, Timothy Howes, served in the Navy in the South Atlantic in WW2; I served in the Army, 1971-80; my brother Larry served in the Air Force 1973-77."

 

Semper Fi to all who have served, stood and died for Constitutional life, protections and freedoms heretofore, in history, unknown.

Dr. Richard Turnbull: Leave of Absence, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

http://anglicanink.com/article/wycliffe-hall-principal-out

Wycliffe Hall principal out

Dr. Richard Turnbull takes leave of absence

Article | May 24, 2012 - 8:51am | By George Conger

 

The Principal of one of the Church of England’s leading evangelical theological colleges has taken a leave of absence. While this week’s announcement by the Wycliffe Hall council that Dr. Richard Turnbull’s duties would be assumed by Vice-Principal Simon Vibert follows reports of discord within the school, Anglican Ink has been told the principal’s departure is not related to the wider Anglican Communion’s political wars.

The last six years have been difficult for the school, Anglican Ink was told, and concerns over leadership style and management – not churchmanship – had led to this announcement.
Founded in 1877 to train Anglican clergy, Wycliffe Hall is a permanent private hall of Oxford University, that been able to matriculate its own theology students as members of the university since 1996. Among its former members are Lord Coggan, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. N.T. Wright the former Bishop of Durham, and the Rev. Nicky Gumbel of Alpha Course fame.
In 2007 three members of the college staff, Dr Elaine Storkey, the Rev Dr Andrew Goddard and the Rev Lis Goddard left the school as did some of the members of the college council. Dr. Storkey filed a complaint of unfair dismissal and religious discrimination. In January 2008 the college conceded she had been “unfairly dismissed” as it had not complied with the relevant “statutory procedures” governing her employment.

However, the college said “we strongly refute any allegation that Elaine's dismissal from Wycliffe was in any way connected with her religious beliefs. At Wycliffe Hall, our key priority is to equip men and women for modern ministry and this happens in an environment that encourages wide discussion and debate, reflective of the broad range of thinking within the Church as a whole.”

The college received a second blow in 2009 following the release of an external inspection. The report stated that “the inspection team regards Wycliffe Hall as fit for purpose for preparing candidates for ordained and licensed ministry” and gave the school a mark of “Confidence with qualifications”. But the school needed to improve its pastoral training program.
A press release from the bishops on the college council, Bishops James Jones of Liverpool, Peter Forster of Chester and David Urquhart of Birmingham stated:

“We regret that the inspectors have judged it right to declare that they have no confidence in one area of the Hall's life, in relation to aspects of Practical and Pastoral Theology. We doubt that the evidence which the Inspectors adduce merits such a stark assessment, but we will ensure that the recommendations which are made in relation to this area are given speedy and particular attention.”
Dr. Turnbull’s leave of absence came as a surprise to many outside observers as the college appeared to have recovered from its difficulties. However, an insider who asked not to be identified as he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the council said the departure of Dr. Turnbull centered round issues of trust and management.

On 23 May the council, led by the Bishop Forster of Chester, released a statement saying:
“Staff and students at Wycliffe were told last week that Principal Richard Turnbull is to take a leave of absence from the Hall. The Council wishes to make it clear that the Principal has not been dismissed. The Council and Richard are now in ongoing discussions over his future role at Wycliffe, with Vice-Principal Simon Vibert assuming the position of Acting Principal. We have every confidence in Simon, and in the rest of the staff, to ensure continuity and the efficient functioning of the Hall during this time.

The outcome of the discussions with Richard will be communicated to staff and students in due course. However, our overriding priority is to ensure Wycliffe remains unequivocally committed to equipping men and women as leaders, preachers, church planters and evangelists in the mission of proclaiming and living the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, with a deeply biblical understanding of the nature of the Kingdom of God.”

Dunstan of Canterbury

          Ohio Anglican (OA), who occasionally posts notable posts now and then, reminds us rightly about St. Dunstan of Canterbury.  Our caution often goes to OA's quick reliance on questionable sources.  As historians, we want better evidence than OA typically offers.  Yet, we post his article on "Dunstan of Canterbury," lest we forget.  St. Dunstan is rehearsed in our "old 1662 Book of Common Prayer" for May's readings. Here are OA’s words at:

http://ohioanglican.blogspot.com/2012/05/dunstan-of-canterbury.html

Dunstan of Canterbury

Glastonbury Abbey

St. Dunswan was born near Glastonbury in the southwest of England about the year 909, ten years after the death of King Alfred. During the Viking invasions of the ninth century, monasteries had been favorite targets of the invaders, and by Dunstan's time English monasticism had been wiped out. In its restoration in the tenth century, Dunstan played the leading role. He was born of an upper-class family, and sent to court, where he did not fit in. At the urging of his uncle, the Bishop of Westminster, he became a monk and a priest, and returned to Glastonbury, where he built a hut near the ruins of the old monastery, and devoted himself to study, music, metal working (particularly the art of casting church bells, an art which he is said to have advanced considerably), and painting. A manuscript illuminated by him is in the British Museum. He returned to court and was again asked to leave; but then King Edmund had a narrow escape from death while hunting, and in gratitude recalled Dunstan and in 943 commissioned him to re-establish monastic life at Glastonbury. (Glastonbury is one of the oldest Christian sites in England, and is associated in legend with King Arthur and his Court, with Joseph of Arimathea, and with other worthies. It has been said that the Holy Grail, the chalice of the Last Supper, is hidden somewhere near Glastonbury.) Under Dunstan's direction, Glastonbury became an important center both of monasticism and of learning. The next king, Edred, adopted Dunstan's ideas for various reforms of the clergy (including the control of many cathedrals by monastic chapters) and for relations with the Danish settlers. These policies made Dunstan popular in the North of England, but unpopular in the South.

Edred was succeeded by his sixteen-year-old nephew Edwy, whom Dunstan openly rebuked for unchastity. The furious Edwy drove Dunstan into exile, but the North rose in rebellion on his behalf. When the dust settled, Edwy was dead, his brother Edgar was king, and Dunstan was Archbishop of Canterbury. The coronation service which Dunstan compiled for Edgar is the earliest English coronation service of which the full text survives, and is the basis for all such services since, down to the present. With the active support of King Edgar, Dunstan re-established monastic communities at Malmesbury, Westminster, Bath, Exeter, and many other places. Around 970 he presided at a conference of bishops, abbots, and abbesses, which drew up a national code of monastic observance, the Regularis Concordia. It followed Benedictine lines, but under it the monasteries were actively involved in the life of the surrounding community. For centuries thereafter the Archbishop of Canterbury was always a monk.

Dunstan took an active role in politics under Edgar and his successor Edward, but under the next king, Ethelred, he retired from politics and concentrated on running the Canterbury cathedral school for boys, where he was apparently successful in raising the academic standards while reducing the incidence of corporal punishment. On Ascension Day in 988, he told the congregation that he was near to death, and died two days later.

Propers for Dunstan - Archbishop of Canterbury

The Collect.

O GOD, who dost ever hallow and protect thy Church: Raise up therein through thy Spirit good and faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ, as thou didst in thy servant Dunstan; that by their ministry and example thy people may abide in thy favour and walk in the way of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Second Helvetic Confession, 19: Sacraments of Christ's Church

THE SECOND HELVETIC CONFESSION

CHAPTER XIX

Of the Sacraments of the Church of Christ

THE SACRAMENTS [ARE] ADDED TO THE WORD AND WHAT THEY ARE. From the beginning, God added to the preaching of his Word in his Church sacraments or sacramental signs. For thus does all Holy Scripture clearly testify. Sacraments are mystical symbols, or holy rites, or sacred actions, instituted by God himself, consisting of his Word, of signs and of things signified, whereby in the Church he keeps in mind and from time to time recalls the great benefits he has shown to men; whereby also he seals his promises, and outwardly represents, and, as it were, offers unto our sight those things which inwardly he performs for us, and so strengthens and increases our faith through the working of God's Spirit in our hearts. Lastly, he thereby distinguishes us from all other people and religions, and consecrates and binds us wholly to himself, and signifies what he requires of us.

SOME ARE SACRAMENTS OF THE OLD, OTHERS OF THE NEW, TESTAMENTS. Some sacraments are of the old, others of the new, people. The sacraments of the ancient people were circumcision, and the Paschal Lamb, which was offered up; for that reason it is referred to the sacrifices which were practiced from the beginning of the world.

THE NUMBER OF SACRAMENTS OF THE NEW PEOPLE. The sacraments of the new people are Baptism and the Lord's Supper. There are some who count seven sacraments of the new people. Of these we acknowledge that repentance. the ordination of ministers (not indeed the papal but apostolic ordination), and matrimony are profitable ordinances of God, but not sacraments. Confirmation and extreme unction are human inventions which the Church can dispense with without any loss, and indeed, we do not have them in our churches. For they contain some things of which we can by no means approve. Above all we detest all the trafficking in which the Papists engage in dispensing the sacraments.

THE AUTHOR OF THE SACRAMENTS. The author of all sacraments is not any man, but God alone. Men cannot institute sacraments. For they pertain to the worship of God, and it is not for man to appoint and prescribe a worship of God, but to accept and preserve the one he has received from God. Besides, the symbols have God's promises annexed to them, which require faith. Now faith rests only upon the Word of God; and the Word of God is like papers or letters, and the sacraments are like seals which only God appends to the letters.

CHRIST STILL WORKS IN SACRAMENTS. And as God is the author of the sacraments, so he continually works in the Church in which they are rightly carried out; so that the faithful, when they receive them from the ministers, know that God works in his own ordinance, and therefore they receive them as from the hand of God; and the minister's faults (even if they be very great) cannot affect them, since they acknowledge the integrity of the sacraments to depend upon the institution of the Lord.

THE SUBSTANCE OR CHIEF THING IN THE SACRAMENTS. But the principal thing which God promises in all sacraments and to which all the godly in all ages direct their attention (some call it the substance and matter of sacraments) is Christ the Savior -- that only sacrifice, and that Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world; that rock, also, from which all our fathers drank, by whom all the elect are circumcised without hands through the Holy Spirit, and are washed from all their sins, and are nourished with the very body and blood of Christ unto eternal life.

THE SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE IN THE SACRAMENTS OF OLD AND NEW PEOPLES. Now, in respect of that which is the principal thing and the matter itself in the sacraments, the sacraments of both peoples are equal. For Christ, the only Mediator and Savior of the faithful, is the chief thing and very substance of the sacraments in both; for the one God is the author of them both. They were given to both peoples as signs and seals of the grace and promises of God, which should call to mind and renew the memory of God's great benefits, and should distinguish the faithful from all the religions in the world; lastly, which should be received spiritually by faith, and should bind the receivers to the Church, and admonish them of their duty. In these and similar respects, I say, the sacraments of both peoples are not dissimilar, although in the outward signs they are different. And, indeed, with respect to the signs we make a great difference. For ours are more firm and lasting, inasmuch as they will never be changed to the end of the world. Moreover, ours testify that both the substance and the promise have been fulfilled or perfected in Christ; the former signified what was to be fulfilled. Ours are also more simple and less laborious, less sumptuous and involved with ceremonies. Moreover, they belong to a more numerous people. one that is dispersed throughout the whole earth. And since they are more excellent, and by the Holy Spirit kindle greater faith, a greater abundance of the Spirit also ensues.

OUR SACRAMENTS SUCCEED THE OLD WHICH ARE ABROGATED. But now since Christ the true Messiah is exhibited unto us, and the abundance of grace is poured forth upon the people of The New Testament, the sacraments of the old people are surely abrogated and have ceased; and in their stead the symbols of the New Testament are placed -- Baptism in the place of circumcision, the Lord's Supper in place of the Paschal Lamb and sacrifices.

IN WHAT THE SACRAMENTS CONSIST. And as formerly the sacraments consisted of the word, the sign, and the thing signified; so even now they are composed, as it were, of the same parts. For the Word of God makes them sacraments, which before they were not.

THE CONSECRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS. For they are consecrated by the Word, and shown to be sanctified by him who instituted them. To sanctify or consecrate anything to God is to dedicate it to holy uses; that is, to take it from the common and ordinary use, and to appoint it to a holy use. For the signs in the sacraments are drawn from common use, things external and visible. For in baptism the sign is the element of water, and that visible washing which is done by the minister; but the thing signified is regeneration and the cleansing from sins. Likewise, in the Lord's Supper, the outward sign is bread and wine, taken from things commonly used for meat and drink; but the thing signified is the body of Christ which was given, and his blood which was shed for us, or the communion of the body and blood of the Lord. Wherefore, the water, bread, and wine, according to their nature and apart from the divine institution and sacred use, are only that which they are called and we experience. But when the Word of God is added to them, together with invocation of the divine name, and the renewing of their first institution and sanctification, then these signs are consecrated, and shown to be sanctified by Christ. For Christ's first institution and consecration of the sacraments remains always effectual in the Church of God, so that these who do not celebrate the sacraments in any other way than the Lord himself instituted from the beginning still today enjoy that first and all-surpassing consecration. And hence in the celebration of the sacraments the very words of Christ are repeated.

SIGNS TAKE NAME OF THINGS SIGNIFIED. And as we learn out of the Word of God that these signs were instituted for another purpose than the usual use, therefore we teach that they now, in their holy use, take upon them the names of things signified, and are no longer called mere water, bread or wine, but also regeneration or the washing of water, and the body and blood of the Lord or symbols and sacraments of the Lord's body and blood. Not that the symbols are changed into the things signified, or cease to be what they are in their own nature. For otherwise they world not be sacraments. If they were only the thing signified, they would not be signs.

THE SACRAMENTAL UNION. Therefore the signs acquire the names of things because they are mystical signs of sacred things, and because the signs and the things signified are sacramentally joined together; joined together, I say, or united by a mystical signification, and by the purpose or will of him who instituted the sacraments. For the water, bread, and wine are not common, but holy signs. And he that instituted water in baptism did not institute it with the will and intention that the faithful should only be sprinkled by the water of baptism; and he who commanded the bread to be eaten and the wine to be drunk in the supper did not want the faithful to receive only bread and wine without any mystery as they eat bread in their homes; but that they should spiritually partake of the things signified, and by faith be truly cleansed from their sins, and partake of Christ.

THE SECTS. And, therefore, we do not at all approve of those who attribute the sanctification of the sacraments to I know not what properties and formula or to the power of words pronounced by one who is consecrated and who has the intention of consecrating, and to other accidental things which neither Christ or the apostles delivered to us by word or example. Neither do we approve of the doctrine of those who speak of the sacraments just as common signs, not sanctified and effectual. Nor do we approve of those who despise the visible aspect of the sacraments because of the invisible, and so believe the signs to be superfluous because they think they already enjoy the things themselves, as the Messalians are said to have held.

THE THING SIGNIFIED IS NEITHER INCLUDED IN OR BOUND TO THE SACRAMENTS. We do not approve of the doctrine of those who teach that grace and the things signified are so bound to and included in the signs that whoever participate outwardly in the signs, no matter what sort of persons they be, also inwardly participate in the grace and things signified.

However, as we do not estimate the value of the sacraments by the worthiness or unworthiness of the ministers, so we do not estimate it by the condition of those who receive them. For we know that the value of the sacraments depends upon faith and upon the truthfulness and pure goodness of God. For as the Word of God remains the true Word of God, in which, when it is preached, not only bare words are repeated, but at the same time the things signified or announced in words are offered by God, even if the ungodly and unbelievers hear and understand the words yet do not enjoy the things signified, because they do not receive them by true faith; so the sacraments, which by the Word consist of signs and the things signified, remain true and inviolate sacraments, signifying not only sacred things, but, by God offering, the things signified, even if unbelievers do not receive the things offered. This is not the fault of God who gives and offers them, but the fault of men who receive them without faith and illegitimately; but whose unbelief does not invalidate the faithfulness of God (Rom. 3:3 f.).

THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH SACRAMENTS WERE INSTITUTED. Since the purpose for which sacraments were instituted was also explained in passing when right at the beginning of our exposition it was shown what sacraments are, there is no need to be tedious by repeating what once has been said. Logically, therefore, we now speak severally of the sacraments of the new people.

Article 19 of 39: "Of the Church"

The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England

Article XIX

Of the Church

The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached and the sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch have erred: so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of faith.

De Ecclesia

Ecclesia Christi visibilis est coetus fidelium, in quo verbum Dei purum praedicatur et sacramenta, quoad ea quae necessario exiguntur, iuxta Christi institutum recte administrantur. Sicut erravit Ecclesia Hierosolymitana, Alexandrina, et Antiochena: ita et erravit Ecclesia Romana, non solum quoad agenda et caeremoniarum ritus, verum in his etiam quae credenda sunt.

Heidelberg Catechism, 91-95: 10 Commandments" Kids and Adults Need to Memorize These? "Say it Ain't So!"

The Heidelberg Catechism

Imagine That!  You must be kidding?  Kids, Children and Adults? Need to Learn/Memorize the 10 Commandments??!!

As one Dutch Elder once said, “This Catechism is the heart cry from the pew!”

Question 91. But what are good works?

Answer: Only those which proceed from a true faith, (a) are performed according to the law of God, (b) and to his glory; (c) and not such as are founded on our imaginations, or the institutions of men. (d)

(a) Rom.14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. (b) Lev.18:4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. 1 Sam.15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Eph.2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (c) 1 Cor.10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (d) Deut.12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. Ezek.20:18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: Ezek.20:19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; Isa.29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Matt.15:7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, Matt.15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Matt.15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

34. Lord's Day

Question 92. What is the law of God?

Answer: God spake all these words, Exodus 20:1-17 and Denteronomy 5:6-21, saying: I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1st commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2nd commandment: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3rd commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4th commandment: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5th commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6th commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

7th commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8th commandment: Thou shalt not steal.

9th commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10th commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Question 93. How are these commandments divided?

Answer: Into two tables; (a) the first of which teaches us how we must behave towards God; the second, what duties we owe to our neighbour. (b)

(a) Exod.34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Deut.4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. Deut.10:3 And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. Deut.10:4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me. (b) Matt.22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matt.22:38 This is the first and great commandment. Matt.22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matt.22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Question 94. What does God enjoin in the first commandment?

Answer: That I, as sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own soul, avoid and flee from all idolatry, (a) sorcery, soothsaying, superstition, (b) invocation of saints, or any other creatures; (c) and learn rightly to know the only true God; (d) trust in him alone, (e) with humility (f) and patience submit to him; (g) expect all good things from him only; (h) love, (i) fear, (j) and glorify him with my whole heart; (k) so that I renounce and forsake all creatures, rather than commit even the least thing contrary to his will. (l)

(a) 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 1 Cor.6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 1 Cor.6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor.10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 1 Cor.10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. (b) Lev.19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. Deut.18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. Deut.18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Deut.18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. Deut.18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. (c) Matt.4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Rev.19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Rev.22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Rev.22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. (d) John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (e) Jer.17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. Jer.17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. (f) 1 Pet.5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 1 Pet.5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (g) Heb.10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Col.1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Rom.5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; Rom.5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 1 Cor.10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Philip.2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: (h) Ps.104:27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. Ps.104:28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Ps.104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Ps.104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. Isa.45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (i) Deut.6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Matt.22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (j) Deut.6:2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Ps.111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Prov.1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Prov.9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Matt.10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (k) Matt.4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Deut.10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. Deut.10:21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. (l) Matt.5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Matt.5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Matt.10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Question 95. What is idolatry?

Answer: Idolatry is, instead of, or besides that one true God, who has manifested himself in his word, to contrive, or have any other object, in which men place their trust. (a)

(a) Eph.5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 1 Chron.16:26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Philip.3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) Gal.4:8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. Eph.2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 2 John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. John 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.