Baxters Narrative of His Life and Times, Part 2 · Section 10 · Floating text 13
Concerning the Matter of your Majesty's Concessions, as related to our Proposals.
1. WE humbly renew our Petition to your Majesty, for the effectual Security of those premised Necessaries, which are the Matter of our chiefest Care, and whereunto the Controverted Points subserve: viz. 1. That private Exercises of Piety might be encouraged. 2. That an able, faithful Ministry may be kept up, and the insufficient, negligent, scandalous, and non-resident, cast out. 3. That a credible Profession of Faith and Obedience be pre-required of Communicants. 4. That the Lord's Day be appropriated to H…ly Exercises without unnecessary Divertisements.
2. For Church-Government. In this your Majesty's Declaration, Parish Discipline is not sufficiently granted us. Inferiour Synods with their Presidents are passed by; and the Bishop which your Majesty declareth for, is not Episcopus Praeses, but Episcopus Princeps; indued with sole Power both of Ordination and Iurisdiction. For though it be said, That [the Bishop shall do nothing without the Advice of Presbyters] yet their Consent is not made necessary, but he might go contrary to the Counsel of them all. And this Advice is not to be given by the Diocesan Synod, or any chosen Representatives of the Clergy, but by the Dean and Chapter, and so many and such others as …e please to call. In all which there being nothing yielded us, which is sufficient to the desired Accommodation and Union, we humbly prosecute our Petition to your Majesty, that the Primitive Presidency with the respective Synods described by the late Reverend Primate of Ireland, may be the Form of Church-Government established among us: At least in these Three needful Points.
1. That the Pastors of the respective Parishes may be allowed, not only publickly to Preach, but personally to Catechize or otherwise Instruct the several Families, admitting none to the Lord's Table that have not personally owned their Baptismal Covenant by a credible Profession of Faith and Obedience; and to admonish and exhort the Scandalous, in order to their Repentance; to hear the Witnesses and the accused Party, and to appoint fit Times and Places for these things; and to deny such Persons the Communion of the Church in the Holy E… charist, that remain impenitent; or that wilfully refuse to come to their Pastors to be instructed, or to answer such probable Accusations; and to continue such Exclusion of them till they have made a credible Profession of Repentance, and then to receive them again to the Communion of the Church; provided there be place for due Appeals to Superiour Power].
All this we beseech your Majesty to express under your Fifth Concession, because it is to us of very great weight, and the Rubrick is unsatisfactory to which we are referred.
2. That all the Pastors of each Rural Deaneries, having a stated President chosen by themselves (if your Majesty please to grant them that liberty) may meet once a Month, and may receive Presentments of all such Persons as notwithstaning Suspension from Communion of the Church, continue impenitent or unreformed, and having further admonished them, may proceed to the Sentence of Solemn Excommunication, if after due patience they cannot prevail. And may receive the Appeals of those that conceive themselves injuriously Suspended, and may decide the Cause.] Or if this cannot be attained, at least [that the Pastors of each Rural Deanery with their President, may have power to meet Monthly, and receive all such Presentments and Appeals, and judge whether they be fit to be transmitted to the Diocesan or not: and to call before them and admonish the Offenders so presented].
Yet if Presentments against Magistrates and Ministers be reserved only to the Diocesan Synod, and their Appeals immediately there put in, we shall therein submit to your Majesty's pleasure.
3. That a Diocesan Synod, consisting of the Delegates of the several Rural Synods, be called as often as need requireth: and that without the Consent of the major part of them, the Diocesan may not Ordain, or Exercise any Spiritual Censures on any of the Ministers: nor Excommunicate any of the People but by consent of the Synod, or of the Pastors of the particular Parishes where they had Communion. And that not only Chancellors, but also Arch-deacons, Commissaries, and Officials as such, may pass no Censures, purely Spiritual.
But for the Exercise of Civil Government coercively by Mulcts or Corporal Penalties by Power derived from your Majesty, as Supream over Persons, and in things Ecclesiastical, we presume not at all to interpose: but shall submit to any that act by your Majesty's Commission.