Ecclesiastical History of England, Volume 2—The Church of the Commonwealth

by John Stoughton

Upon the dissolution of the first Protectorate Parliament, the supreme management of affairs once more relapsed into the hands of Cromwell and his Council. They constituted an ultimate tribunal, before which all ecclesiastical, as well as all secular matters had to be brought, if any doubt arose respecting the decisions of inferior authorities. Notices of questions referred to them, or of matters in which they saw it proper to interfere, are found in such of the Minute Books as are still extant. But, excepting these occasional and revisionary interpositions, the Commissioners for approving godly preachers, and the Commissioners for ejecting scandalous ones, undertook the entire superintendence and discipline of the Clergy.

Commissioners at Whitehall.

The former sat at Whitehall. There country ministers, summoned from various parts, were obliged to attend; and, in numerous cases, where the benefice was distant and the living poor, the hardship of travelling all the way up to the metropolis became very great. As might be expected, men forced to pass through the ordeal complained of arbitrariness and oppression. There were frequent grumblings about "super-metropolitan" and "hyper-archiepiscopal" tyranny, and of despotism worse than the Bishops'—even "overtopping Laud." Clergymen, out of all sympathy with their judges, entered the Court full of prejudices; and by their known character were likely to excite a corresponding prejudice on the part of those who decided their destiny. They walked into the room full of suspicion; they met at the Board with abundant annoyance; and then came out irritated at the judgment pronounced upon their case. Often-times they complained of delay, and said they had "to wait the leisure of the underlings, clerks, or registrars"—a complaint which probably was not without foundation, for much business was thrown into a few hands, to be transacted far away from the residence of the parties most interested.

Tales respecting the alleged ignorance and malignity of the Triers met with extensive currency; and, coloured as they might be by the parties themselves who complained of their wrongs, they were more deeply coloured still by the prejudice or the carelessness of those who afterwards repeated these stories to their neighbours. Hence, after passing from one Episcopalian to another, they assumed the darkest hues and the most monstrous proportions. Some of them, which have been reduced to writing, exhibit the examiners in a ridiculous light—pressing points connected with Election, Perseverance, the Work of Grace, and the marks of the New Birth, after a fashion the most absurd which can be imagined. One clergyman, for instance, declared that he was asked whether Regeneration were a substance or an accident, and in what predicament it ought to be placed? Mystical questions were put touching the life of grace, to which mystical answers were returned, about the breath and the heat and the sense of the soul. It was said, that enquiries of this nature were continued until sacred themes were dishonoured by the merest trifling. But, it must be remembered, these are only ex parte statements made by accused persons and their friends; and such reports, even where there was no intention to deceive, can never be trusted.[100]

1655.

To ascertain whether the teachers of religion were truly religious, and acquainted with the truths of Christianity, was the task assigned to these extraordinary Commissioners; and apart from the political relations of the tribunal over which they presided, such a proceeding must be pronounced right and wise. Whether the Triers adopted the best method to arrive at what they wished to know is another question. Unfortunately, the minutes of their meetings have perished, and no records of their proceedings exist endorsed by themselves. Could they be heard in their own defence, what now appears to their disadvantage might, in many cases, be considerably mitigated, if not entirely removed. Constituted as the Commission was, the justice of the conclusions reached depended entirely on the wisdom and goodness of those who pronounced them. We should certainly not congratulate men of intelligent piety, of delicate feeling, and of a wide charity, who happened to fall into the hands of a Cheynell or a Peters; and there were others also who might be mentioned not likely to prove impartial judges. We should conclude, further, that ignorant, wild, and enthusiastic spirits would be very likely to pass muster before certain of the members. Still, the requirement of nine of their number in any vote of rejection operated as a check upon injustice; and the character of such men as Dr. Owen, Dr. Goodwin, and others, afforded a guarantee that nothing dishonourable would be met with at their hands. The fact, too, should be mentioned that the Commissioners, though opposed to Episcopacy, allowed certain clergymen to retain their incumbencies, notwithstanding their Episcopalian opinions.[101]

Ejection of Scandalous Ministers.

Besides the commission of Triers, there was the commission for ejecting scandalous, ignorant, and insufficient Ministers. Perhaps few cases occurred in which the accusation of ignorance and insufficiency was simply made. Commonly, a rather long array of charges was presented, on the principle, it would appear, of catching the criminal on a second count of the indictment if the first should fail. The same person was accused of profaning the Sabbath, of frequenting alehouses, of using the Prayer Book, of playing at cards, of living an unholy life, and of being disaffected to the Government. We cannot help believing—much as we may honour the character of the Puritans—that in some cases they, like their adversaries, yielded to the besetting sin of priding themselves upon their orthodoxy and their virtue; and that they took it for granted that the men who differed from them in creed, and whom therefore they considered intellectually wrong, must also differ from them in life, and could not be reckoned morally right. Two kinds of injustice would arise from placing such dissimilar charges in the same category. Those put out of office for immorality would be sure to say they were ejected because of their loyalty to the Church—a circumstance which would reflect upon the character of the Commissioners; and those who were really ejected for using the Prayer Book, when scandals alleged against them remained unproved, would almost inevitably incur the disgrace of being reputed as vicious—a circumstance which involved unrighteousness towards the accused.

Ejection of Scandalous Ministers.

In small country towns, whilst these ecclesiastical assizes were being held, there would be no little excitement in the streets, and many a knot would gossip round the doors of the little inn where the tribunal sat. From what is preserved of such proceedings, however doubtful may be the minute details, we conclude that there was plenty of cross-swearing, and that the character of witnesses on one side was treated by the parties on the other much after the worst fashion of Old Bailey practice. Men of low reputation were special pleaders in their own case, and when charged with intemperance they cunningly mooted the question, what really was meant by drinking in excess; and then proceeded to bring forward boon companions, who proved that in no conviviality had the reverend gentleman ever been seen intoxicated! Very unwisely in the course of a trial for what was truly scandalous, discontented parishioners were allowed to come forward, and declare that they had never profited under the ministry of the accused—a fact which might by no means be the minister's fault. Charges of gross vice might sometimes break down, although there remained quite enough to satisfy the Commissioners of the utter unfitness of the individual in question to be continued any longer as a minister of religion; but in such cases ample room was left, owing to the medley of indictments, for imputing injustice to the members of these judicial boards, however equitable might be the final award. It should be added that there was also some tempering of justice, or of injustice, with a shew of mercy. To the widow and children of the ejected was assigned the fifth of the income of the living.[102] Also sufficient time was allowed for those whose preferment was sequestered to move out of the parsonage; but then all this was followed by the cruel severity of forbidding such persons from becoming schoolmasters in the place of their ejectment. The vacancies made by expulsions were to be filled up by lawful patrons, unless those patrons became disqualified by acts of delinquency, in which case the presentation lapsed to the Lord Protector.