The Acts of Famous National Councils of the Reformed Churches in France, Introduction 2 · Section 54 – Section 55
SECT. LIV.
With ſome of the Miniſters they dealt very treacherouſly, fawning upon them with kind words and counterfeit civilities, wheedling them into a good opinion of thoſe reſpects and loves they never had nor intended for them. This proved a great and dangerous Snare to two worthy Miniſters, among others, as will appear from this following Letter, written to an eminent French Miniſter in London, from Paris, October 19. 1685.
From Paris, Octob. 19. 1685. Monſieur, my most honoured Brother,
SInce you are owner of ſo much goodneſs as to intereſt your ſelf like a kind Brother in thoſe Affairs which particularly concern us, and foraſmuch as we can avow our Affections for you, to be great and ſincere, and our fellow-feeling of all your Sufferings to be real and very ſenſible, it is but juſt, that when our Brother Du — gives you an Account of the ſtate of our Family, we ſhould alſo at the ſame time acquaint you with that of our Conſciences.
You may then underſtand, my moſt dear Brother, that no ſooner was the King's Declaration publiſhed, which aboliſhing the Edict of Nants, obliged all the Miniſters within a Fortnight's time to depart the Kingdom, but Monſieur — and my ſelf went immediately to ſeek and take places for our ſelves and Families in the Bruſſel's Coach, as my Brother — went to that of Calais. But two or three days after, being informed, that neither our Wives nor Children ſhould have the liberty of leaving the Kingdom with us, and that we ſhould meet with an hundred difficulties in our departure, and that we muſt needs have Certificates from our Intendants, which was utterly impoſſible for us to procure in that ſhort time was now left us, we, together with divers others, went and waited upon Monſieur de la Renie, who is the Judge and Civil Magiſtrate of this City, who gave us a Certificate according to the King's Edict, which yet in the iſſue was uſeleſs and unprofitable.
Monſieur de la Renie, being particularly acquainted with Monſieur — treated us with a great deal of civility, and deſired us ſeriouſly to reflect upon that perplexed condition into which we and our Families were plunged, and that we would examine our ſelves whether with a good Conſcience we might not tarry in the Kingdom, and whether our preſence would not alſo contribute to the conſolation of a multitude of gracious Souls groaning under the preſſures of their Afflictions, who had been abandon'd by their fugitive Paſtours, according to the general Complaints brought in againſt them from all quarters.
Hereupon we drew up ſeveral Projects. I formed mine, Monſieur — framed his, and they were both ſo contrived, that any one might eaſily judge we ſhould never be ſuffer'd on thoſe terms to live in the Kingdom. And, to ſpeak the truth, they were not approved by my Brother Du — who drew up another, the Copy whereof we now ſend you; but we muſt confeſs, moſt dear Brother, that we have found it to be of dreadful conſequence, and moſt dangerouſly inſnaring to us. But Du — having reſolutely maintained, that we had no other way left us of abiding in the Kingdom than by ſigning this Writing, and if we would not, yet he himſelf would alone in his own perſon preſent it to my Lord Biſhop of Meaux, we did at length ſign it, Monſieur — and my ſelf, tho' with extreme repugnancy, and with this very reſtriction, that Du — ſhould retrieve it out of the hands of the Biſhop of Meaux, as ſoon as he had read it, which Du — ſolemnly promiſed us he would do.
My Lord Biſhop perus'd our Writing, and having told Du — that he conceiv'd the King would never grant us what we deſired in it, we believ'd our ſelves oblig'd all three jointly to take our leaves of the Biſhop, and of Monſieur de la Renie, becauſe we were two days after to avoid the Kingdom. My Lord Biſhop of Meaux diſmiſt us very civilly. But Monſieur de la Renie made us a long diſcourſe about our Writing given in to the Biſhop of Meaux, and that Conference which our Brother had with him, telling us, among other paſſages, that the King took notice of our Meaſures; that he had approved and praiſed them; that he had a better opinion of us by far, than of a great many others who had yet gone beyond us; but that the King deſired us to continue our Conferences with the Biſhop of Meaux, and that the King having learnt our intention of going to Fountainbleau, that we might wait upon the Biſhop of Meaux, (which was a truth) had the kindneſs for us as to order him to come to Paris; and if after our Conferences ended with my Lord Biſhop of Meaux, we could not with a good Conſcience hold Communion with the Church of Rome, he would then give us, when ever we ſhould deſire it, a Licence for our ſelves and Families to depart the Kingdom, and that finally my Lord of Meaux would charily preſerve our Writing, which had been preſented unto his Majeſty.
We all three accepted the Propoſals. And had ſeveral Conferences with the Biſhop of Meaux. But this very day we are urged to come to a Reſolution, and upon our refuſal of ſigning the new Formulary, we are plainly told, That it is ill done of us to recoil after that of our own accord we had advanced ſo far; and they farther tell us, That our own Writing obligeth us to far greater matters than the new Formulary; and that we declare in the very beginning of it, That, of all Evils, Diſunion is the greateſt, and that by this our Confeſſion, neither Tranſubſtantiation, nor any of thoſe other Points debated by us, could be a bar to our Re-union, and that in effect we do formally re-unite ourſelves by our very Writing, and that by ſubmitting our ſelves to the Conduct of Biſhops, and of their pitiful Curates, we do ſubject our ſelves to the whole Eccleſiaſtical Diſcipline; and that we intreating the Higher Powers, who went unto Maſs, to believe our Sentiments to be the ſame with theirs, who deſired the Cup, we were engaged at the ſame time to do as they did, even to wait for that Reformation which was univerſally deſired, and which the King inceſſantly purſued, as having reſolv'd, that the Cup ſhould be delivered unto the People in the Sacrament. And thus they boaſt we are caught by our own Writing, which was left imprudently enough in the hands of my Lord Biſhop of Meaux, and which they ſay alſo at the ſame time is in the King's. This is the truth of our preſent Eſtate, and for which, we conjure you, moſt dear Brother, to ſend us as ſoon as poſſible your advice, leſt, &c.
WE, whoſe Names are here-under written, being fully perſwaded, that among Chriſtians there cannot be a greater miſchief than to be divided one from another, eſpecially when as the providence of God has made us all Subjects to our King, who is the moſt glorious Monarch in the whole World, and being unmeaſurably grieved, that we are bound to depart his Kingdom, and to ſubject our ſelves unto the authority of ſtrangers, whom we can never own for our Soveraign Lawful Princes, Do declare, That from this very day we can promiſe my Lord, the Biſhop of Meaux, that we will ſubject our ſelves to the Sermons and Even-Songs uſed in the Catholick Church, thereby giving a ſenſible demonſtration of our Union with the Archbiſhops, Biſhops and Curates of France; We alſo intreat, That we may be abſolutely believed to be in the ſame Sentiments with the Higher Powers, who, in conformity to the Liberties of the Gallican Church, gave in divers Articles (as our Hiſtorians relate) to my Lord Cardinal de Joyeuſe, concerning the Council of Trent; and until ſuch time as they may be eſtabliſhed by the King's Authority, and ſigned by the moſt Reverend Clergy of France, in the ſence of the ſecond Article of the laſt Edict, verified in Parliament the 22d of this inſtant October, we moſt humbly beſeech his Majeſty to grant us the liberty of abiding within his Kingdom, in quality of poor private perſons, we calling God to witneſs, by our Oaths, That we will do nothing againſt his Majeſty's Declarations, but contrariwiſe, we ſhall endeavour by our example to keep the People within thoſe bounds of Fidelity and Obedience, which we all owe unto the King and our Superiours.
I ſuppoſe thoſe Articles were the ſame, which had been demanded by the Cardinal of Lorrain, and the other French Ambaſſadours in the Council of Trent, as they be mentioned by De Mezeray, in his 3d Tome, p. 1470. viz.
That an Eccleſiaſtick Perſon ſhould hold but one Benefice; That the Maſs being finiſhed, Prayers might be celebrated in the Vulgar Tongue; That the People might Communicate in both kinds; That all Paſtors ſhould be capable; and obliged to Preach and Catechiſe; That the abuſe crept in among the Common People in the Worſhipping of Images might be removed.
SECT. LV.
Now the Miniſters have left the Kingdom, and vaſt multitudes of their People ſteal away after them as well as they can. But the King and Haman, the French King and his Cabal ſit down and drink, whil'ſt that Paris, as Shuſhan of old, and all other places, in which the Reformed remain, are in great perplexities. In every Province, whitherſoever the King's Commandment and his Decree came, there was great Mourning among the Proteſtants, Faſting, Weeping, and Wailing, and many lay in Sackcloth and Aſhes.
Yet among the Sighs and Groans or God's poor Saints, who mourn for the Deſolations of Zion, the Ruines of their Temples and Sanctuary, the loſs and reproach of their Solemn Aſſemblies, the Prophanations of their Holy Sabbaths, their deprival of Religious Ordinances, the baniſhment of their Paſtors, the diſſipations of their Churches, and the total extirpation of the pure Evangelical Religion, and cannot be comforted; the Popiſh Clergy, the Monks and Jeſuits have their Jubilees and Triumphs; and the Pope ſends, a Letter to the King, congratulating him for his Zeal againſt the Hereticks in his Kingdom, and for repealing the Edict of Nantes. It ſpake this Language.
The Pope's Letter to the French King, congratulating him for Aboliſhing the Edict of Nantes.
Innocent the XIth, to our deareſt Son in Chriſt, Lewes the XIVth, the moſt Chriſtian King of France. Our deareſt Son in Chriſt,
SInce above all the rest of thoſe illuſtrious Proofs which do abundantly declare the natural inbred Piety of your Majeſty, that Noble Zeal (and worthy the most Chriſtian King) is most conſpicuous, with which, being ardently inflamed, you have wholly abrogated all thoſe Conſtitutions that were favourable to the Hereticks of your Kingdom, and by most wiſe Decrees ſet forth, have excellently provided for the Propagation of the Orthodox Belief, as our beloved Son, and your Ambaſſadour with us, the Noble Duke de Eſtrées, hath declared to us. We thought it was incumbent on us most largely to commend that excellent Piety of yours, by the remarkable and laſting Teſtimony of theſe our Letters, And to congratulate your Majeſty that Acceſſion of immortal Commendation which you have added to all your other great Exploits by ſo illuſtrious an Act of this kind. The Catholick Church ſhall most aſſuredly record in her Sacred Annals a Work of ſuch Devotion towards her, and celebrate your Name with never-dying Praiſes. But above all, you may most deſervedly promiſe to your ſelf an ample Retribution from the Divine Goodneſs for this most excellent Ʋndertaking, and may reſt aſſured, that we ſhall never ceaſe to pour forth our moſt earnest Prayers to that Divine Goodneſs for this intent and purpoſe. The reſt you ſhall underſtand from our venerable Brother, Angelo, Archbiſhop of Genua: In the mean time we greet you moſt kindly with our Apoſtolical Benediction.
Given at Rome, the 13th of November, in the 10th Year of our Pontificate.