II. Constitution and Government. — 1. Church and State. — The constitution of the Refonned Church of England is that "of an authorized and paid estab- lishment, which is not allowed to persecute those who dissent from it" (Short). The union of Church and State was completelj' secured l)j- the statutes that fol- lowed the Reformation up to the Revolution of 1688. The English Church constitution remained nearlj' un- changed by the Reformation, only tliat the crown toolv the place of the pope. The course of subsequent leg- islaticm brought in, however, man}' important modifi- cations of detail. The old statutes, though rarely en- forced, were still law, exce))ting when expressly abro- gated. One of the most imiiortnnt of these was the Prtrmuniie (see above). Tiie statute 2o of Henry VIII (1534), ch. xxi, declares entire independence of
Rome, and calls the king svpreme hede of the Church of England, according to the recognition of its prelates and clergy. This statute abolislies Peter's pence, and provides for the visitation of monasteries by royal commission.
During the reign of Mary Popery was restored, but all the statutes to tliat effect were repealed by Stat. 1 of Elizalieth (lo58-'J), which transfers the head- ship of the Church from the pope to the English crown, and declares the ro;jal szipremacy perpetual. Every form of spiritual and ecclesiastical jurisdiction and pre- rogative is included in the declaration. The crown can exercise this authority through such officers as it may select, provided they be British subjects appointed by letters-patent. The act prescribes the oath of su- premacy, to be taken by all civil and spiritual officers. See Oath of Supremacy. The Act of Uniformity (1559) restored the Common Prayer, and required the clergy to conform strictly to it. The statute 13 Eliz. c. 11 (1571), incorporated the 39 articles which had been agreed upon by the Convocation of loG2 into the law of the land. This act, with the laws of suprem- acy and uniformity, and the articles, settled the gov- ernment, the worship, and the doctrines of the Church. The queen, though subject to the Church order and doctrines, was invested with full power to govern the Church, and to fill the highest ecclesiastical offices. Church and State were fused together, for all citizens of the State were made members of the Church ; the officers of the Church were officers of the State, and the head of the State was made head of the Church. The Revolution made several changes in the constitu- tion of the Church. By stat. 1 William and Mary, ch. vi (April, 1689), the coronation oath was modified. In it the kirg swore not merely to govern according to the old laws and customs, but also to maintain the laws of God and the true confession of the Gospel, and of the Protestant Reformed religion as by law estab^ lished ; and to " preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them." The 8th chapter sul sti- tuted a new form of the oath of allegiance, in which the recognition of the king's ecclesiastical supremacy is left out, and in its place stands a promise to obey the king truly ; with an anathema of the impious doc- trine that princes excommunicated by the pope should be deposed and executed, and that a foreign potentate can have ecclesiastical autliority within the realm. The same statute (ch. xviii) removed some penalties from Dissenters, and made them eligible to office, pro- vided they took the oath of allegiance personally, or by proxy, in case of conscientious objection to taking the especial oaths of office. During the present cen- tury a number of acts have been passed annulling dis- abilities of Papists and Dissenters ; and it is now the case that Dissenters and Romanists have religious freedom, are eligible to civil office, and are admitted to Parliament.
2. Government. — (1.) The king is the supreme head of the Church on earth, at least in name and form. Formerly the clergv made the following subscription : " That tlie king's (queen's) majesty, under God, is the only supreme governor of this realm, and of all other his highness's dominions and countries, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes as tempo- ral," etc. ; but by an act of Parliament of July 5, 18G5 (28th and 29th Vict. cap. 122), persons to be or- dained deacons or priests are required (1) to make a " Declaration of Assent" to the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and to the Book of Common Prayer, and of the Ordering of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons; (2) to take the Onth of Aller/iance and Siipremac)/ (21st and 22d Vict. cap. 48), by wliich they swear to be faith- ful and bear true allegiance to the queen, and declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or poten- tate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power,
ENGLAND, CHURCH OF 203 ENGLAND, CHUllCH OF
superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. "The highest Church offices are filled by the ministrj' in the name of the crown. The Privy Council, in which only temporals vote, is the highest court of appeal."
(2.) The management of the Church is in the hands of a hierarchy of archbishops and bishops, subject to the authority of the king and Parliament. The United Church of England and Ireland is divided into four provinces: two English, Canterbury and York; two Irish, Armagh and Dublin. These are under four mutually independent archbishops. The bishops, as well as the archbishops, are spiritual peers, except- ing the bishop last consecrated, and tlie bishop of Sodor and INIan, who does not sit in the House of Lords unless he happens to be a peer in his own right. Archbishops are chosen by the crown from among the bishops. The sovereign also nominates the bishops. The Church is governed, " under her majesty, by archbishops, bishops, deans, archdeacons, and the rest that bear office in the same" (Can. vii). The archbishops and bishops alone have the power to ordain clergymen ; and these ordinations take place, according to canon law, at ''allotted certain times," and "only on the Sundays immediateh' following jejimia quatuor temporuvi, commonly called Ember wrecks." Candidates for the ministry are usually graduates of Cambridge or Oxford, or Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, or else of Durham, Lampeter, or St. Bees ; but the bishops are not bound to restrict ordi- nation to members of any university or college. Ap- proved candidates take "the oath of supremacy," sign a declaration that thej' will conform to the liturgj'-, and subscribe three articles : the first affirming the supremacy of the sovereign in the Church; the second asserting that the Book of Common Prayer contains nothing co;itrary to the word of God, and that the or- dained person will use the form of the said book ; and the third, that the}' hold all " the Thirty-nine Articles." The candidate is first ordained a deacon, and so con- tinues for one j'ear. At the expiration of this term he undergoes an examination ; and when this is satis- factorj', he is admitted by the bishop to the order of priest, or presb^'ter. Several of the presbyters, as well as the bishop, lay their hands simultaneouslj' on the head of every candidate, while the bishop repeats the form prescribed in the ordination service. When once ordained a presbyter, he is competent to take any duty or to hold any preferment in the Church.