The Confession of Faith of English People in Exile, Religious tract 2
¶The heads of the differences between vsus and the Church of England as it standeth at this day, concerning divers corruptions of Antichrist yet remayning among them.
I.
THat Christ the Lord hath by his last Testament given to his Church, and set therein, sufficient ordinary Offices, with the maner of calling or Entrance, Works, and Maintenance, for the administration of his holy things, and for the sufficient ordinary instruction guydance & service of his Church, to the end of the world.
2. That every particular Church hath like & full interest & power to enioy and practise all the ordinances of Christ given by him to his Church to be observed therein perpetually.
3. That a true visible Church, is a company of people called and separated from the world by the word of God, and ioyned together by voluntarie profession of the faith of Christ, in the fellowship of the Gospell. And that therefore no prophane persons, vnbeleevers or wicked livers, may be received reteyned or c… ̄pelled to be members in the Church of Christ, which is his body; God having in all ages appointed & made a separation of his people from the world, before the Law, vnderunder the Law, & now in the tyme of the Gospel.
4. That discreet, faithfull, & able men (though not yet in office of Ministerie) may preach the Gospell and whole truth of God, that men being first brought to knowledg, & converted to the Lord, may then be ioyned together in holy comunion with Christ our head and one with another.
5. That being thus ioyned, every Church hath power in Christ to chuse and take vntounto themselves meet and sufficient persons, into the Offices and functions of Pastors, Teachers, Elders, Deacons and Helpers, as those which Christ hath appointed in his Testament, for the feeding, governing, serving, & building vp of his Church. And that no Antichristian Hierarchie or ministerie, of Popes. Arch-bishops, Lord bishops, Suffraganes, Deanes, Arch-deacons, Chauncellors, Parsons, Vicars, Priests, Dumb-ministers, or any such like, may be set over the Spouse & Church of Christ, nor reteined therein.
6. That the Ministers aforesaid being lawfully called by the Church where they are to administer, ought to continew in their functions according to Gods ordinance, and carefully to f…ed the flock of Christ cōmitted vntounto them, being not inioyned or suffred to beare Civil offices withall, neither burthened with the execution of Civil affaires, as the celebration of mariage, bu…ying the dead &c. which things belong aswel to those without as within the Church.
7. That the due maintenance of the Officers aforesayd, should be of the free and voluntarie contribution of the Church, that according to Christs ordinance, they which preach the Gospel may live of the Gospel: and not by Popish Lordships and livings, or Iewish Tithes & Offerings. And that therefore the Lands & other like revenewes of the Prelats & Clergie yet remayning (being still also baits to allure the Iesuites & Seminaries into the Land, & incitements vntounto them to plot & prosecute their woonted evil courses, in hope to enioy them in tyme to come) may and ought to be taken away, & converted to better vse, as those of the Abbeyes & Nunneries have been heretofore by the Princes power and authority, to the honor of God & great good of the Reālme.
8. That al particular Churches ought to be so constituted, as having their own peculiar Officers, the whole body of every Church may meet together in one place, & ioyntly perform their duties to God & one towards another. And that the censures of admonition and excommunicatiō should in due maner be executed, for sinne, convicted, & obstinatly stood in. This power also to be in the body of the Church whereof the parties so offending & persisting are members.
9. That the Church is not to be governed by Popish Canons, Courts, Classes, Customes, or any humane inventions, but by the Lawes & rules which Christ hath appointed in his Testament. That no Apocrypha writings, but only the Ca… nical scriptures are to be vsed in the Church. And that the Lord is to be worshipped and called vponupon in spirit & truth, according to that forme of praier given by the Lord Iesus, Mat. 6. & after the Leitourgie of his own Testament, not by any other framed or imposed by men, much lesse by one translated from the Popish …, as the Book of common praier &c.
10. That the Sacraments, being seales of Gods covenant, ought to be administred onelyonly to the faithful, & Baptisme to their seed or those vnderunder their government. And that according to the simplicitie of the Gospel, without any Popish or other abuses, in either Sacrament.
11. That the Church is not to be vrged to the observation of dayes & tymes, Iewish or Popish, save only to sanctify the Lords day: Neyther to be laden in thinges indifferent, with rites & ceremonies, Whatsoever invented by men; but that christian libertie may be rete…ned: And what God hath left f…ee, none to make bound.
12. That al monuments of Idolatry in garments or any other things, al Temples, Altars, Chappels, & other places dedicated heertofore by the Heathèns or Antichristians to their fa… worship, ought by aucthoritie to be rased & bolished, not suffered to remayne, for nourishing superstition, much lesse imploied to the tr… worship of God.
13. That Popish degrees in Theologie, i… forcement to single life in Colledges, abuse the study of prophane heathen Writers, w… other like corruptions in Schooles & Academi… should be removed & redressed, that so th… may be the welsprings & … series of true lea… ning & godlines.
14. Finally that all Churches & peop… (without exception) are bound in Religion on… ly to receive & submit vntounto that constitution Ministerie, Worship, & order, which Christ Lord & King hath appovnted vntounto his Churc… & not to any other devised by Man whatsoeve…
Let him that readeth, consider.
End of the text · Henry Ainsworth, The Confession of Faith of English People in Exile (1607)