The Acts of Famous National Councils of the Reformed Churches in France

CHAP. I. Of Ministers.

• CANON I.
  THAT such Persons may be chosen into the Ministry as are meet for so sacred an Employment, let the standing Canon of the Apostle be observed, That inquiry be made into their Doctrine, whether they be apt to teach; and also into their Conversation, with all possible Diligence.
• CANON II.
  Novices lately received into the Church, especially Priests and Monks, shall not be admitted unto the Sacred Ministry, without a long and diligent inquiry, and experience had both of their Life and Doctrine, approved, at least, by the space of two Years since their Conversion, and confirmed by good Testimonials from the places of their abode; nor shall they be ordained, no more than unknown Persons, without the Advice of Provincial and National Synods.
• CANON III.
  If any Bishop or Curate should desire to be employed in the Ministry of the Gospel, he cannot be admitted till he be first a true Member of the Church, and renounce all his Benefices, and all other Dependencies on the See of Rome, and make acknowledgment of all his Offences formerly committed by him, according as he shall be advised by the Consistory, and after long proof and experience had of his Repentance and godly▪ Conversation.
• CAN. IV.
  A Minister of the Gospel (unless in times of Difficulty, and Cases of very great necessity, in which he may be chosen by three Pastors, together with the Consistory of the Place) shall not be admitted into this Holy Office, but by the Provincial Synod, or by the Colloquy, provided that it be at least composed of seven Pastors; which number being found in a Colloquy, some of the Neighbor Ministers shall be called in to concur with it, and the Minister elect shall be presented with good and valid Testimonials, not only from the Universities, and particular Churches, but also from the Colloquy of that Church, in which he had been most conversant.
• CAN. V.
  The Minister presented shall be examined in this manner, First, by Propositions from the Word of God, upon such Texts as shall be given him; the one necessarily in French, the other in the Latin Tongue, if the Colloquy or Synod shall judge it expedient. One whole day shall be granted him to prepare himself for each of these Exercises. If by them he give satisfaction unto the Assembly, there shall be tendered him a Chapter of the New Testament, by which his skill in the Greek Language shall be known; and as to the Hebrew, they shall be careful to see that at the least he can serve himself of good Books for the understanding of the Scripture in that Original. Unto these there shall be added an Essay of his skill in the most needful parts of Philosophy; let the whole Examen be managed with singular Charity, and without Affectation of any thorny or unprofitable Questions. Finally, he shall compose a brief Confession of his Faith in Latin, on which he shall be opposed by way of Disputation. And if, after this Examination, he be found capable, then the Assembly remonstrating to him the Duty of that Office whereunto he is called, shall further declare that Power which is given him in the Name of Jesus Christ, to minister both in the Word and Sacraments; and he shall be fully and solemnly ordained in that Church unto which he is sent; and the said Church shall be informed of his Election by the Act or Letters of that Synod or Colloquy, which shall be delivered and read unto them by a Pastor or Elder.
• CAN. VI.
  He whose Election shall be declared unto the Church, shall Preach publicity the Word of God on three several Sabbaths (but without power of administering the Holy Sacraments, or of solemnizing Marriages) in the audience of the whole Congregation, that so they may know his manner of Teaching, and the said Auditory shall be expressly charged. That if any one of them do know any impediment, for which his Ordination, who shall be then mentioned by his Name, may not be completed, or why he may not be accepted, that they do then come and give notice of it unto the Consistory, which shall patiently hear the Reasons of both Parties, that so they may proceed to Judgment. The Peoples silence shall be taken for a full consent. But in case contention should arise, and the afore-named Elect be pleasing to the Consistory, but not unto the People, or to the major part of them, his reception shall be deferred, and the whole shall be remitted unto the Colloquy or Provincial Synod, which shall take cognizance both of the justification of the before-named elect Minister, and of his reception. And although the said Elect should be then and there justified, yet shall he not be given as Pastor unto that People against their will, nor to the discontentment of the greatest part of them; nor shall the Pastor be imposed against his will upon that Church; and the difference shall be terminated by order as above, at the Costs and Charges of the Church that shall have demanded him.
• CAN. VII.
  Who so consenteth to be chosen unto the Sacred Ministry, ought to accept of the Office, with which he shall be invested; and in case of his refusal, he shall be solicited thereunto by fitting Exhortations, but he shall in no wise be constrained.
• CAN. VIII.
  The Election of Ministers shall be confirmed by Prayers and Imposition of Hands; always avoiding all Superstition, and according to this ensuing form:

  The Form of Ordination usually observed in the Churches of France at the Reception of their Ministers.

  All things before-mentioned having been observed, two Pastors deputed by the Synod or Colloquy to lay their Hands upon the Minister elect, being come into that Church, one of them, who preacheth the Sermon, shall discourse briefly of the Institution and Excellency of the Ministry, alleging Testimonies pertinent to this occasion from holy Writ; such as Ephes. 4.11, 12. Luke 10.16. John 20.21, 22. 1 Cor. 4.1, 2. 2 Cor. 5.18, 19, 20. 1 Tim. 3.8. or others of the like nature, admonishing everyone to see to it, that both Minister and People do perform their respective Duties. The Minister to acquit himself of his Charge the more carefully, because he knoweth it to be precious and excellent in the sight of God; and the People with all humility and reverence to receive the Word of God, which shall be declared by him, who is now sent unto them. Then shall be read in the hearing of the whole Congregation what is written in 1 Tim. 3. and 1 Tit. where the Apostle teacheth what kind of Man a Minister should be. And that it may please God to vouchsafe Grace unto this elect person to acquit himself worthily and faithfully of his holy Calling, a short Prayer shall be conceived to this purpose, in which the said Pastor shall insert these or the like words: O Lord God, we beseech thee to endow with the Gifts and Graces of thy holy Spirit this thy Servant lawfully chosen according to that Order established in thy Church, and abundantly to enrich him with all Abilities needful for his acceptable performance of the Duties of his Office, to the Glory of thy holy Name, the Edification of thy Church, and his own Salvation, whom we now dedicate and consecrate unto thee by this our Ministry. And then the Minister that prayeth, standing upright below the Pulpit, shall lay his Hands upon his Head, for whom Prayer is now made, he being humbly on his knees. And the new Pastor arising, the two Deputies sent from the Colloquy or Synod shall give him before the People the right hand of fellowship. And this Form and the above-mentioned Canon shall be unanimously observed in all the Reformed Churches of this Kingdom.

• CAN. IX.
  Our Confession of Faith and Church-Discipline shall be subscribed by such as are chosen in the Ministry, both into the Churches in which they shall be ordained, and in those unto which they shall be sent.
• CAN. X.
  No Ministers shall be ordained without appointing them unto a particular Flock; and they shall be the peculiar Pastors of those Churches unto which they be assigned. And no Church shall pretend right unto any Minister, by virtue of a particular promise made by him, without the authority of the Colloquy or Provincial Synod.
• CAN. XI.
  Such as shall be chosen unto the Ministry of the Gospel must know, that they be in that Office for term of life, unless they be lawfully discharged upon good and certain considerations, and that by the Provincial Synod.
• CAN. XII.
  The principal Duty of Ministers is to Preach the Gospel, and to declare the Will of God unto their People, and they shall be exhorted to forbear all strange ways of teaching, which have no tendency to edification; and they shall conform themselves to the simplicity and common style of God's Spirit, taking heed that there be nothing in their Sermons prejudicial to the Authority of holy Scripture; and they shall never Preach without having for foundation of their discourse a Text of holy Scripture, which they shall ordinarily follow, and they shall handle and expound as much of that Text as they can, forbearing all needless Enlargements, all tedious and unseasonable Digressions, all superfluous heapings up of Scripture-Quotations, and vain recitals of various and different Expositions. They shall very rarely allege the Writings of the Fathers, nor at any time profane Histories and Authors; that so they may reserve unto the Scripture entirely its own Authority. Moreover, they shall not handle any Doctrine in a scholastick way of Disputation, nor with a mixture of Languages. In one word, they shall avoid whatsoever may serve for ostentation, or in any wise occasion doubts or scruples. And that this Canon may be more carefully observed and practiced, Consistories, Colloquies, and Synods shall put to their helping hand.
• CAN. XIII.
  Churches are admonished to use more frequently the Ordinance of Catechising, and Ministers are to treat and expound it by short, plain, and familiar Questions and Answers, accommodating themselves unto the capacity of the meanest People, without expatiating themselves into common places. Yea, all Ministers shall endeavor to catechize everyone in their Flocks once or twice a Year, and shall exhort them to conform themselves thereunto very carefully.
• CAN. XIV.
  Ministers and their Families shall actually reside on their Churches, on pain of being deposed from their Sacred Ministerial Office.
• CAN. XV.
  Those Persons to whom God hath given Talents and Abilities for Writing, are advised to use them in a modest manner, suitable to the Majesty of God's Word; and therefore consequently they shall not write after a ridiculous or injurious rate, and in their ordinary Sermons they shall express this self-same modesty and gravity. And they who are endowed with gifts for writing, shall he chosen by the Provinces; and if it happen that any Books be published against the true Religion, they shall be sent unto them, that they may be answered. And there shall be a Colloquy in each Province appointed unto this peculiar business carefully to peruse all Manuscripts before they be Printed, and what is published, and to disperse the Copies.
• CAN. XVI.
  No Minister shall claim or exercise any Primacy or Jurisdiction over another.
• CAN. XVII.
  Ministers shall preside by turns in their Consistories, that so none may claim a Superiority over his Fellow, and none of them shall give any Testimony in matters of importance, without having first Communicated unto his Brethren and Collegues in the Ministry.
• CAN. XVIII.
  That Custom used in some places of deputing certain Ministers from the Provincial Synods to visit the Churches, shall be for time to come totally suppressed and abolished. That order which hath been used until now being sufficient enough for taking cognizance of Scandals. And this manner of erecting new Offices and Employments is condemned because of its dangerous consequence, as also all names of superiority are rejected, such as Elders of Synods, Super-intendents, and the like. And all Advertisements for assembling Colloquies, or Synods, or concerning any businesses which depend upon them, shall be directed unto the Church, and not to any particular Minister in it. And if accidentally they have been so superscribed, and for some certain Considerations addressed unto any one of the Ministers or Elders, they who have received them shall present them unto the Consistory, that so advice and deliberation may be taken of them.
• CAN. XIX.
  No Minister, together with the holy Ministry, shall be a Practitioner in Law or Physic; yet out of Charity he may give Counsel and assistance to the poor of his Flock, and of his Neighbourhood: provided always that he be not thereby diverted from his Calling, nor derive any gain from his practice, unless in times of trouble and persecution, and when he cannot exercise his Calling in his Church, and cannot be maintained by it. And those who shall thus employ themselves in Law or Physic, or in any other Worldly distracting business, shall be exhorted wholly to forbear it, and totally to devote themselves unto the duties of their Calling as Ministers, and to the study of the Scriptures. And all Colloquies and Synods are admonished to proceed according to the Canons of our Discipline against the refractory, and such as be willfully disobedient, as also against those who spend so much of their time in teaching youth, that it is an hindrance to them in the principal duties of their Ministerial Office. And all Consistories, Colloquies, and Provincial Synods, shall have a most especial care and regard that this Canon be punctually observed, and to suspend such as do transgress it from their exercise of the Ministry.
• CAN. XX.
  Ministers shall exhort their People to be modest in their Apparel, they themselves also giving in this particular a good example unto the World, by their own, their Wives, and their Children's forbearing all bravery in their Habits.
• CAN. XXI.
  Princes, and great Lord's following the Court, that would have a Church erected in their Houses, shall be desired to choose their Ministers out of those Churches which be duly reformed, and can spare them a Pastor, and of whose lawful Call unto the sacred Ministry they may be well assured, and this with the good will and consent of the Colloquies or Synods. These shall in the first place subscribe the Confession of Faith of the Churches in this Kingdom, and our Ecclesiastical Discipline. And that the Preaching of the Gospel may be the more successful, they shall be everyone of them desired to constitute in their Families a Consistory, composed of the Minister, and of the best approved persons for Godliness in their said Family, who shall be chosen Elders and Deacons: by which Consistory all Vices and Scandals in that Family shall be suppressed, and the common Discipline of our Churches shall be maintained. Moreover if it be possible for them, they shall personally appear at Provincial Synods. To which purpose Powers shall be given unto the Church, that convocates the Synod of that Province, to call them to it. And the said Ministers by name, or someone or other of them, according as they shall be deputed by the rest, shall make their personal Appearance at the National Synods, in company with their Elders, who may inform the Synod of their Lives and Conversations; And if several of them meet together, none shall claim any preeminency or jurisdiction over his Brethren, according to that Canon of our Discipline made on this behalf. And when as the said Princes and Lord's shall sojourn in their Houses, or other places in which a Church is already constituted, that all divisions may be avoided, they shall be desired to conjoin the Church of their Families, together with the Church of that place, to make but one Church, as shall be advised in an amicable Conference with the Ministers of both Churches, that so what may be most expedient may be followed.
• CAN. XXII.
  It shall not be lawful for the Pastor to desert his Flock without leave first had and obtained from the Colloquy, and Provincial Synod of that Church to which he was first given.
• CAN. XXIII.
  Deserters of the Sacred Ministry shall be finally Excommunicated by the Provincial Synod, unless they do repent, and return again unto their Charge which God had committed to them.
• CAN. XXIV.
  Ministers shall not be Vagrants, nor have liberty to intrude themselves of their own Authority into any place which best pleaseth them.
• CAN. XXV.
  The Minister of one Church shall not preach in another without the consent of its Minister, unless he were absent: in which case the Consistory shall authorize him; and if through persecution, or any troubles, the Flock should be dissipated, the strange Minister shall endeavor to assemble the Elders and Deacons: which if it cannot be done, yet nevertheless he may warrantably preach, that so the dispersed Flock may be reunited.
• CAN. XXVI.
  That Minister who intrudeth himself into a Church, although he get the People's Approbation, yet shall he not be approved of by the Neighbor Ministers, or any others; but the cognizance of his Case shall be devolved upon the Colloquy, or Provincial Synod.
• CAN. XXVII.
  Ministers shall not be sent unto other Churches without authentic Letters, or some other sufficient Testimonials from those places from whence they last came, which shall be put into the Consistories hands of that Church whereunto they be sent, and there carefully to be preserved.
• CAN. XXVIII.
  No Minister, who reports himself forsaken of his Church of persecuted, shall thereupon be received by another Church, until he have first produced valid Certificates of his holy and unblameable Conversation unto the Colloquy or Synod, and the whole Affair shall be remitted to the prudence and discretion of the Colloquy or Provincial Synod.
• CAN. XXIX.
  When as a Minister, who hath orderly obtained his Licence of departure from that Church in which he last served, shall be destitute of employment, the Colloquy or Provincial Synod are of duty bound to provide him of another Church within one Month. And if within that term the Colloquy or Synod have not provided for him, he shall be then at liberty to get himself a Church out of that Province in any place where God shall open a door unto him according to the Canons of our Discipline.
• CAN. XXX.
  Authority is granted unto Provincial Synods for divers considerations to remove Ministers from their Churches, their Churches having been first heard, and their Reasons well and sufficiently weighed. But in case of discord, the whole shall be determined by a National Synod; and till the sitting of which nothing shall be innovated.
• CAN. XXXI.
  When as a Minister is persecuted, or for some other reason cannot exercise his Ministry in that Church unto which he was appointed, he may by the said Church be sent elsewhere, or they may exchange him with another for a certain time, by the good will and consent of both the Churches. But and if the Minister shall not submit unto the judgment of those two Churches, he shall give the Reasons of his refusal unto the Consistory, and in it their equity shall be debated and determined: and in case they be not esteemed valid, and the Minister shall notwithstanding persist in his resolution of not accepting the said Employment, the difference shall be referred unto the next Provincial Synod, or else unto the Colloquy, if both those Churches do belong unto the same Colloquy.
• CAN. XXXII.
  Ministers may with their own consent be lent by the Consistory, according as the Edification of the Church shall require: but the loan shall not be done without the advice of two or three Ministers, or of the same Colloquy, if it be for any longer term than six Months.
• CAN. XXXIII.
  Ministers, that have been lent, when as the time of their loan is expired, shall be restored again unto their Churches, from which they had departed.
• CAN. XXXIV.
  If a Church do not redemand its Pastor within one Year after the time for which he was lent is expired, he shall then appertain unto that Church unto which he was lent, provided always, that the said Pastor do yield his consent unto it; but and if he do not give his consent, he shall dispose of himself according to the advice of the Colloquy or Synod of that Church to which he had been lent. And this Canon shall be of force with reference to those Ministers, who because of persecution have betook themselves unto the service of other Churches, and the persecution ceasing they be not redemanded by their former Churches within one Year, which shall begin from that time in which those Ministers gave notice of it unto those aforesaid Churches.
• CAN. XXXV.
  A Minister destitute of a Church and unimployed in his Province, and lent by the Colloquy to a Church out of the bounds of the Province till the next Session of his Provincial Synod, if he be not employed by that Synod within their Province, he shall remain appropriate unto that Church to which he was lent, provided that he and the Church do mutually consent thereunto.
• CAN. XXXVI.
  That Churches may perform their Duties to their Pastors, according to those Obligations on them by the Word of God, and that Pastors may have no just ground of offense given them, nor to abandon their said Flocks, they shall be admonished to minister unto their Pastors all things necessary for their comfortable subsistence.
• CAN. XXXVII.
  And to prevent their ingratitude, who by experience are known to have dealt unworthily with their painful Ministers, this order shall be observed; one quarter of the yearly Pension which was promised them shall be paid in unto them by way of advance beforehand.
• CAN. XXXVIII.
  And for the future, lest through any ill management of this matter, the Churches should happen to be dissipated, those who are chosen Moderators in Colloquies, shall inquire of the Elders in every Church about the Maintenance afforded by them unto their Ministers, and of their Care in supplying their Wants, according to the Canon before ordained; that so by the Authority of Colloquies provision may be made for them.
• CAN. XXXIX.
  When as necessary Maintenance shall have been detained from a Pastor, and three Months be lapsed since his Complaints and Remonstrances, it shall be then lawful for the said Pastor to join himself unto any other Church by consent of his Colloquy or Provincial Synod: And the Colloquy or Synod may shorten the term of three Months if there be urgent necessity for it; yea, if that the necessity be pressing, and three Months are expired, and the Pastor is not supplied, though he had entered in his Petition to be discharged, it shall suffice if he call into his Consistory two neighbor Ministers, and he shall not be bound to wait for the sitting of the Colloquy or Synod to obtain their advice and consent, unless that one of the said Assemblies were convocated and to meet in that very self-same Month in which he was to have departed.
• CAN. XL.
  In that trial and judgment which shall be passed upon a Peoples ingratitude at the complaint of a Minister, all circumstances shall be prudently considered, and special regard shall be had unto the poverty of the Church, and of the Plaintiff's estate, that so they may use those means which will be most likely to promote the Glory of God, the Edification of his Church, and the Honor of the Ministry.
• CAN. XLI.
  A Church being found ungrateful shall not be provided of a Pastor till such time as they have given entire satisfaction according to their ability unto him of whom they be deprived. And this Pastor shall in the mean while remember always to keep himself disengaged from the Church of any other Province but his own, unless by a Decree of the said Province it may have been otherwise determined.

  N.B. The last Clause of this Canon is not in four Copies of different Editions, as that of the Year 1653. that of Geneva, 1666. that of Quevilly, 1678. and an English Translation of the Discipline, printed for Bourn in the Year 1642. But yet I find it in the Paris Edition by Vandôme in the Year 1663. and in another Impression of it at Quevilly, I think in the same Year 1663 for I have not the Original now by me, (which I returned twenty Years ago to my Friend) but the Translation I made of it.

• CAN. XLII.
  Ministers, though they have Estates and Lands of their own, may yet nevertheless take Wages from their Flocks, yea and it is expedient that they should so do, in regard of its consequence, lest other Ministers and Churches be prejudiced by this their example. Yet shall they be advised so to manage this liberty as the Churches necessity, and their quality shall require it.
• CAN. XLIII.
  No Pastor, under the title of a Pastor, shall be permitted to possess an Inheritance: but in case his Stipend or any part thereof were assigned upon some particular Tenement, Rent, or Revenue, the whole shall be administered by the Deacons, or other persons commissionated and ordained thereunto by the Churches; through whose hands the Minister shall receive his Pension, that so all suspicion of covetousness may be removed, and lest by such worldly cares he should be diverted from the weightier Duties of his Calling.
• CAN. XLIV.
  That Church, in whose Service a Minister dieth, shall take care of his Widow and Orphans, and if the Church cannot do it through want of ability, the Province shall maintain them.
• CAN. XLV.
  Ministers shall be subject unto Censures.
• CAN. XLVI.
  The Duty of Ministers is to govern both themselves and their Flocks, and all their Members small and great, of whatsoever quality and degree, according to the Word of God and the Church-Discipline. But it belongeth properly unto the Magistrate to oversee all Orders and Degrees of Men, yea and Ministers also, and to take heed that they walk uprightly in their calling: wherefore if they offend, the Magistrate shall admonish them of their Duty (and that power is ascribed to him by our Church-Discipline) in Consistories, Colloquies, and Synods, unless their Offences be punishable by Law, the knowledge of which appertaineth unto the Civil Magistrate.
• CAN. XLVII.
  If Ministers should teach evil Doctrine, and after sufficient admonition given them do not desist, they shall be deposed. Item, Such as reject those holy Counsels made them out of God's Word, by their Consistories. Item, Such also as are of Scandalous Lives, and those who shall be convicted of Heresy, Schism, Rebellion against the Discipline of the Church, and open Blasphemies, deserving punishment by the Civil Magistrate, Simony, all Bribery by gifts, briguings, and underhand dealings to get into another Mans place, desertion of their Flocks without lawful leave, and just occasion, falsehood, perjury, whoredom, theft, drunkenness, battery, meriting punishment by the Laws, Usuries, scandalous Plays, and others forbidden by the Laws, Dances and such like dissolutions, Crimes branded with Infamy, and which in any other Person would merit Exclusion from the Church, and all persons uncapable of discharging the duties of their Calling.
• CAN. XLVIII.
  These shall not be deposed, who by reason of Sickness, old Age, or any other such infirmities, are rendered uncapable of discharging the Duties of their Ministry, in which case their honor shall be conserved them, and they shall be recommended unto their Churches for maintenance, and other Ministers shall be provided to perform the duties of their Calling.
• CAN. XLIX.
  Scandalous Crimes punishable by the Civil Magistrate, such as Murder, High-Treason, and other Vices redounding to the great dishonor and scandal of the Church, do deserve that the Minister, guilty of them, should be deposed, although he had committed them not only before his Ordination, but also before his Conversion. And this shall be the rather done, lest the Continuance of such a Wretch in the Ministry should draw greater scandal upon, than edifying unto the Church. Of which all Synods shall take Cognisance.
• CAN. L.
  In Case a Minister be convicted of enormous and notorious Crimes, he shall be deposed out of hand by the Consistory, they inviting unto that action their Colloquy, or through default thereof two or three disinteressed Ministers. And if the Delinquent Minister should complain of the Accusation and Calumny, the business shall be reported unto the Provincial Synod. If he hath Preached Heretical Doctrine (contrary to the Scriptures) he shall be suspended by the Consistory, Colloquy, or two or three Ministers, invited thereunto as before, till the final decision of his Case by the Provincial Synod; and all Sentences of Suspension, for what cause or account soever, shall stand good, and be of force, notwithstanding his Appeal, until the definitive Judgment of the next Synod.

  N.B. That Parenthesis in this Canon is not to be found in the four last Editions of the Discipline, but yet it is in two others that I have both Printed since the last National Synod.

• CAN. LI.
  Unless necessity so require it, the Causes of a Ministers Deposal shall not be published unto the People; of which those who were his Judges, and decreed his Deposal, shall take cognizance.
• CAN. LII.
  The National Synods shall be informed by the Provinces of all Deposed Ministers, that they may not be by them admitted into the Ministry anymore.
• CAN. LIII.
  Ministers. Deposed for Crimes deserving Capital punishment, or bearing mark of Infamy, shall never be restored unto their Office, whatever satisfactions may be given by them. But as for slighter faults, upon Confession of them, they may be restored by the Provincial Synod, but with this condition, to serve in another Province, and not in their own.
• CAN. LIV.
  Vagrants, that is to say, such as having no Call, do thrust themselves into the Ministry, shall be restrained. And whatever Ordinance shall be Decreed and Executed about the Interdiction of any Persons from the Ministry, shall be of equal virtue, with the Acts of the National Synod, and as if it had been done by it.
• CAN. LV.
  They who have been once denounced Vagrants, Apostates, Heretics, and Schismatics, shall be denounced such in all the Churches, that so they may be aware of them. And a List of these Wretches names shall be brought from the several Provincial Synods to be hung up in the National.
• CAN. LVI.
  Such as by the judgment of a National Synod have been once enrolled among the Vagrants, shall never be razed out of that black Catalogue but by the authority of another.
• CAN. LVII.
  Such as intrude into the Ministry in those places and Provinces where the pure worship of God is already established, shall be severely admonished to desist; and in case of their obstinate persisting in this their intrusion, they shall be declared Schismatics, and their Followers also, if after the like admonitions given, they do not leave them.

CHAP. II. Of Schools.

• CANON I.
  THE Churches shall do their utmost endeavor to erect Schools, and to take care of the instruction of their Youth.
• CAN. II.
  Regents and Masters of Schools shall subscribe the Confession of Faith and Church-Discipline, and the Towns and Churches shall nor admit any one into this Office without the consent of the Consistory of that place.
• CAN. III.
  Doctors and Professors in Divinity shall be chosen by the Synod of that Province in which our Universities do lie, and they shall be Examined, not only in Lectures made by them upon the authentic Edition of the Greek and Hebrew Texts of the Old and New Testament, which shall be given them, but also by a disputation of one or more days, as upon advice taken shall be judged best; and being found. Persons of sufficient abilities, if they are not Pastors, the right hand of Fellowship shall be given them, they having first promised, that they will with all faithfulness and diligence discharge their duty, and handle the holy Scriptures with all purity, according to the Analogy of Faith, and the Confession of our Churches, which together with our Church Discipline shall be subscribed by them.
• CAN. IV.
  That our Churches may be always furnished with a sufficient number of Pastors, and of other Persons fit to govern them, and to preach the Word of God unto them, they shall be advised to choose those Scholars who be already well advanced in good Learning, and be of the most promising hopeful Parts, and to maintain such in the Universities, that they may be there prepared and fitted for the Work of the Ministry, ever preferring the Children of poor Ministers, if ingenious, before all others; of which the Colloquies shall take a most especial care. Kings, Princes, and Lord's shall be exhorted and petitioned particularly to mind this important Affair, and to lay by some part and portion of their Revenues towards their maintenance, and the richer Churches shall do the like. Colloquies and Provincial Synods shall as they see meet notify and solicit this Affair, and take the best courses that matters of so great necessity may be successful; and if single Churches cannot do it, their Neighbors shall join with them, that one poor Scholar at the least may be maintained in every Colloquy; and rather than this design should miscarry, the fifth Penny of all our Charities shall be set apart, if it may conveniently be done to be employed in this service.
• CAN. V.
  A Proposition out of the Word of God shall be made by the Scholars of every Church, as time and place may conveniently bear it; at which Exercises Pastors shall be present to preside and order the said Proposans.

  N. B. There were general Statutes made for the Universities of the Reformed Churches of France, in the National Synod of Alez. By whom they were drawn up, is now out of my mind: but those for the University of Montauban were composed by Monsieur Beraud the Father, who was the first Divinity-Professor in it. Those for the University of Die in Dauphiné were composed by the great Chamier; which I have lying by me, written with his own hand, and which I shall publish, if the Lord lend me life, in his Icon.

CHAP. III. Of Elders and Deacons.

• CANON I.
  IN those places where the Order of our Discipline is not yet set up, Elders and Deacons shall be chosen by the joint Suffrages of Pastors and People; but where it hath been already established, the power of choosing them, and that with pertinent Prayers unto the occasion, shall reside in the Consistory together with the Pastors, and they shall be nominated with an audible Voice in the said Consistory, that they may know in what businesses they are to be employed. If they consent, they shall on two Lord's days following be declared to the People, that so their consent also may be obtained; and if on the third Sabbath there be no opposition made, they shall be then publicly received with solemn Prayers, standing upright before the Pulpit, and be thus ordained unto their Offices, they subscribing our Confession of Faith and Church-Discipline; but if there fall out any opposition, it shall be determined in the Consistory, and in case it cannot be there composed, it shall be wholly remitted to the Colloquy, or Provincial Synod.
• CAN. II.
  Henceforward, if it may be possibly avoided, none shall be chosen Elders or Deacons of the Church, whose Wives are not of the true Religion, according to the Apostles Canon. Yet notwithstanding, that the Church may not be deprived of the Labors of several worthy persons, who in the days of their ignorance espoused Women of a contrary Religion, they shall be tolerated, because of the present necessity: provided that they do produce good evidence of their serious endeavors for instructing of their Wives in that Faith and true Worship of God practiced in our Churches.
• CAN. III.
  The Elder's Office is together with the Pastors, to oversee the Church, to gather and keep up the solemn Assemblies, and to take care that the Members in communion do personally appear at those holy Congregations, to make report of Scandals and Offences in Consistory, and with the Pastors to take cognizance, and pass censures on them. In general, it is to have the same care with them in all concerns about the Order, Maintenance, and Government of the Church. Moreover, in every Church there shall be reserved in Writing a Breviate of the particulars belonging unto their Office, according as the circumstances of time and place may call for it.
• CAN. IV.
  The Deacon's Office is to collect and distribute, by the advice of the Consistory, Moneys unto the Poor, Sick, and Prisoners, and to visit, and take care of them.
• CAN. V.
  It doth not belong unto the Deacon's Office to Preach the Word of God, nor to Administer the Sacraments; yet because of our present distress, the Consistory may choose certain Elders and Deacons to catechize the respective Families of the Church, as also in the Pastor's absence, Elders are permitted on Week-days, if chosen thereunto by the Consistory, to Pray publicly with the Church, and therein they shall use the ordinary form, and in reading of the Scriptures, none other but the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament shall be read. And whereas in divers Provinces it hath been a custom for Deacons to catechize in public, the Inconveniences which have already, and may hereafter happen from it, being well considered, the Churches are exhorted, where this custom is not introduced, not at all to admit it, and those in which it hath took place to forsake it, and to endeavor, that the said Deacons, if of competent abilities, do enter as soon as may be into the Ministry.
• CAN. VI.
  Elders and Deacons may be present at Propositions of the Word of God, which are made by Ministers, besides their ordinary Sermons, or by Scholars that are Proposans, and at those Censures which shall be past upon them, and shall give their judgment of these Exercises: but the decisive judgment in point of Doctrine is principally reserved unto Pastors, Ministers, and Doctors of Divinity, who be duly called into that Office.
• CAN. VII.
  The Office of Elders and Deacons, as it is now in use among us, is not perpetual; yet because changes are not incommodious, they shall be exhorted to continue in their Offices as long as they can, and they shall not lay them down without having first obtained leave from their Churches.
• CAN. VIII.
  Neither Elders nor Deacons shall claim any primacy or jurisdiction over one another, whether in nomination unto the People, or in precedency, or in order of voting, or in any matters depending upon their Offices.
• CAN. IX.
  Elders and Deacons shall be deposed for those very crimes and causes for which the Ministers of God's Word are: and if being condemned by the Consistory, they should make an Appeal, they shall yet notwithstanding continue suspended from their Offices, until such times as the Colloquy or Provincial Synod shall have decided their affair.
• CAN. X.
  Elders and Deacons being deposed, shall not be restored in any other manner or form than is used in the re-admission of deposed Ministers.

CHAP. IV. Of the Deaconship, or Office of dispensing the Churches Charities unto the Poor.

• CANON I.
  MOneys belonging unto the Poor shall not be dispensed by any other hands than those of the Deacons, by and with the advice and consent of the Consistory.
• CAN. II.
  It is very requisite, that one or two Ministers be always present at the ordinary distributions, but most especially at passing of accounts.
• CAN. III.
  The People shall be informed of the days of Account, that so they may have liberty all of them, if they please to see the making of them up, as well for their discharge, who have the handling of those Moneys, as for notifying unto all the Necessities of the Church and Poor, and also that thereby they may be excited to more liberal Contributions.
• CAN. IV.
  To prevent those Disorders which daily fall out by reason of Certificates given unto the Poor, every Church shall endeavor to maintain its own: and in case any one be constrained through the urgency of his affairs to travel, Ministers shall examine with the greatest care in their Consistories the just causes of his Journey, and thereupon shall give him Letters directed unto the next Church, lying in the straight way by which he must go, specifying his Name, Age, Stature, Hair, and the Place whither, and the Cause of his Travel, and the Assistance which was given him; nor shall the Date of the Day and Year be omitted; which Letters the Church he is directed to, shall keep by it, and give him others unto the next; and all Certificates formerly given shall be torn in pieces.

CHAP. V. Of the Consistory.

• CANON I.
  IN every Church there shall be a Consistory made up of those who govern it, to-wit of its Pastors and Elders, and in this Assembly as well as in all other Church-Assemblies, the Pastors are of right to be Presidents.
• CAN. II.
  Whereas our Churches, by reason of the present distress, have hitherto most happily employed Deacons in their Government, and that they have discharged at the same time the Elder's Office; such as for the future shall be so elected or continued, shall have together with the Pastors and Elders, the Government of the Church, and therefore shall commonly appear with them at the Consistory, and at Colloquies and Synods, provided they be sent by their Consistory.
• CAN. III.
  In those places where the exercise of our Religion is not yet established, the faithful shall be exhorted by the Colloquies to choose unto themselves Elders and Deacons, and to embrace our Church-Discipline. And in the said Colloquies it shall be advised to what Church they may most conveniently join themselves, and for the better maintenance of their Minister, from which they shall not depart, without having first communicated it unto the said Colloquies.
• CAN. IV.
  There shall be but one Consistory in a Church, nor shall any other Council be allowed or established for Church-affairs as distinct from the Consistory, and if there be any such it shall be immediately suppressed. Nevertheless the Consistory may call at certain times unto itself such Members of the Church as it shall think fit, when affairs so require it: But yet Ecclesiastical business shall not be handled anywhere else but in those places where the Consistories do usually meet and assemble.
• CAN. V.
  A Consistory is at liberty to receive into it the Father and Son, or two Brothers, unless there should arise an inconvenience by it; of which the Colloquy or Provincial Synod shall take cognizance.
• CAN. VI.
  It is left unto the prudence of Consistories to call their Proposans into it, although they have no office in the Church, but not without very great causes and considerations, and upon good experience had of their prudence. And the said Proposans shall be present, not to give their Suffrages when as affairs are debated, but to prepare and fit them for the Government of the Church against such time as God shall call them to it. Moreover it is left to the discretion of Pastors to make trial of their sufficiency by demanding their advice, which yet shall not be done but with much prudence and judgment, and upon their promise of concealing all matters, which they had heard discussed.
• CAN. VII.
  The Civil Magistrate may be called unto the Office of an Elder in the Consistory, provided that his Exercise of one Office do not hinder the discharge of the other, and that it be not in any wise prejudicial to the Church.
• CAN. VIII.
  The Churches Government shall be regulated according to the Discipline, made and decreed by our National Synods, nor shall any Church or Province make any Ordinance, which shall not be for substance conformable to the general Canons of our Discipline. To this end the Canons of our Church-Discipline shall be read in Consistory, at least before the Celebration of the Lord's Supper, and all Elders and Deacons shall be exhorted to keep a Copy of it by them for their private reading and meditation at their leisure.
• CAN. IX.
  The Cognisance of Scandals, and power of passing Sentence on them belongeth unto the Assembly of Pastors and Elders, and there shall be no Exceptions made against full Consistories, no nor against the greater part of them. Nevertheless Exceptions made against the minor part of the said Consistories, whether they be particular Pastors or Elders shall be valid, and admitted by the Consistory, which being once judged, they shall proceed farther notwithstanding an Appeal be interposed upon the admission or rejection of those Exceptions aforesaid.
• CAN. X.
  That Custom used in divers places of inquiring into, and passing a general Censure upon offenses in popular Assemblies before Men and Women, forasmuch as it is condemned by the word of God, the Churches are exhorted to disuse it, and in point of Censure to acquiesce in that order established by the Discipline.
• CAN. XI.
  Elders shall be advised not to report the faults of any unto the Consistory, unless they have good Evidence and proof of them, and when they do it, it shall be done with singular Charity; and no Person shall be called into the Consistory without a sufficient cause or occasion for so doing.
• CAN. XII.
  All possible care shall be taken, that those formalities and terms which are used in Courts of Law, may be avoided in the exercise of Church-Discipline.
• CAN. XIII.
  The faithful may be exhorted, yea and charged in the name of God by the Consistories to tell the Truth, forasmuch as it doth not in the least derogate from the authority of the Civil Magistrate: nor shall they use any of those accustomed formalities in the taking of Oaths before the Magistrate.
• CAN. XIV.
  When differences arise, the contending Parties shall be exhorted by the Consistories to agree among themselves in a friendly manner. Yet Consistories shall not appoint them any Arbitrators, nor deport themselves as if they were Arbitrators. But and if any Members of the said Consistories shall be chosen Arbitrators, it shall be as they are private Persons, and only in their own names.
• CAN. XV.
  Besides those Admonitions given by the Consistories, if there be a necessity of inflicting greater punishment or censures upon Offendors, it shall be either Suspension or Privation for a time from the Lord's Table, or else Excommunication or cutting off from the Church. And Consistories shall be advised to manage both the one and other with singular Prudence, and to distinguish well betwixt them, as also to weigh and examine very prudently those faults and scandals with their circumstances, that are brought before them, that so Censures and Judgment may be given according as is meet and requisite.
• CAN. XVI.
  Suspension from the Lord's Table shall be used for the greater humbling of Offenders, and for quickening them to a most lively sense of their offenses. This Suspension shall not be published unto the People, nor its Cause, nor also the re-admission of the Delinquent, unless they had been Heretics, Despisers of God, Rebels against the Consistory, or Traitors to the Church. These also shall be suspended who have been attainted of Crimes deserving Corporal punishment, and causing grievous scandal to the Church; Item, those who contrary to the Remonstrances made them were married by a Popish Priest, and Fathers and Mothers that so marry their Children, and Tutors, Guardians, and others in the stead of Parents, that do in the same manner marry their Orphan-Pupils, and those also who shall carry them to a Popish Priest, by him to be baptized, or represent another at such a Baptism. It being needful that such persons, although they begin visibly to repent, should be immediately suspended, and for a time deprived of the Lord's Supper, and that their suspension be declared unto the people, that so they may be more deeply humbled, and induced unto Repentance, as also that the Church may be discharged of all shame and blame, and to terrify others, and learn them by this example not to be guilty of such sinful miscarriages.
• CAN. XVII.
  If by such suspensions Sinners be not reformed, but abide obstinate and impenitent, after long forbearance, and frequent admonitions and earnest solicitations of them to it, they shall then be proceeded against with public Admonitions, made before the Congregation by the Pastor, on three Lord's days following, and for their greater shame, if it be thought needful, they shall be mentioned by name, and the whole Church shall be desired to entreat God for them, and to endeavor by all means to bring them unto Repentance, and an acknowledgment of their sins, to prevent their being cut off by Excommunication, unto which we cannot proceed without a World of regret and grief. And if after all this there be no Conversion on the Sinners part, but that they persist in their hardness and obstinacy, on the fourth Sabbath, the Pastor shall publicly declare to the whole Congregation, that the said scandalous and obdurate Sinners, naming them particularly, are no longer owned by us for Church-Members, but in the name, and by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of his Church, are cut off from it. And this shall be the Form of Excommunication. See the Acts of the second National Synod of Paris in the year 1565. Canon the Second.

• CAN. XVIII.
  Henceforward all Sentences of Excommunication, confirmed by the Provincial Synod, shall be of full power and valid; as also all Sentences of Suspension from the Lord's Supper made by the Consistory, which were not declared unto the People, shall hold good, although the Person suspended had entered his Appeal unto the Colloquy or Provincial Synod.
• CAN. XIX.
  Such as have abandoned the profession of our holy Religion, and adhere unto Idolatry, if they persevere in this their Apostasy, after serious endeavors used to bring them back again unto the Church, they shall be publicly denounced Apostates, to wit, those who have of late times revolted; unless the Consistory do judge, that by such a nomination, some great and considerable danger may redound unto the Church, in which case nothing shall be done without consulting the Provincial Synod. And as for those, who have long since revolted, the Execution of this denunciation is remitted to the prudence of the Colloquy.
• CAN. XX.
  In public Sins, that is to say, such as are really committed, and known to a great number of People, this Delinquent shall be restored by a public acknowledgment of his offense, although he had been punished by the Sentence of the Civil Magistrate.
• CAN. XXI.
  Forasmuch as Whoredom carries with it a brand of Infamy, especially upon Women, the Confession and Penance for such Scandals is wholly left unto the prudence of Consistories.
• CAN. XXII.
  Public Penance shall be undergone in Person, and the Delinquent shall give an open testimony of his Repentance.
• CAN. XXIII.
  The Delinquent who was suspended the Lord's Table by the Consistory, although that suspension was concealed from the People, shall demand his restoration from the Consistory, and he giving evident tokens of his Repentance, he shall be restored without undergoing any public Penance.
• CAN. XXIV.
  But he whose Suspension had been declared unto the People, producing Evidences of his Repentance before the Consistory by the fruits of good works, and sufficient Testimonies, shall be publicly reconciled unto the Church, upon the acknowledgment of his offense.
• CAN. XXV.
  Those who for their obstinacy and hardness in their sins shall have been out off from the Church, may not suddenly be restored unto their state, and reconciled unto the Church, but upon good and long trial had of their Repentance they shall be heard in Consistory, and if they Petition to be received unto the Churches Peace, they doing Penance for their offenses, there shall be notice given of it unto the Congregation to stir them up to seek and praise God, and after some time they shall be presented unto the whole Church to confess their former Trespasses and Rebellions, and begging pardon of God and his Church, they shall be in this manner reconciled with joy, public Prayers and Thanksgiving.
• CAN. XXVI.
  If the Members of a Church have fallen into Idolatry, and thereupon removed their Habitation unto another place, in which their offense is not known, they shall only make acknowledgment of their Fall before the Consistory, but with this Proviso, that if they return unto the said Church where they had offended, they shall do public Penance for it. However it is left unto the discretion of the Consistory to deal otherwise with them, if they judge it to be more expedient for the Churches edifying. The same judgment shall be made of all other sins deserving public Penance.
• CAN. XXVII.
  All Sins acknowledged and repaired shall be razed out of the Consistorial Books, excepting those which drawing Rebellion with them had been censured by Suspension from the Lord's Table, or Excommunication out of the Church.
• CAN. XXVIII.
  Consistories shall not give in evidence unto the Civil Magistrate, neither by instrument in writing, nor any other way; nor shall particular Members of the Consistories reveal unto any Person the Confessions of Penitents, who voluntarily, and of their own accord, or by admonitions made them, shall have confessed their offenses to them, unless it be in case of High Treason.
• CAN. XXIX.
  Such Persons shall be prosecuted with all Church-Censures, yea and Excommunicated, who professing the Reformed Religion, do appeal the Pastors, Elders, or the whole Consistory before the Civil Magistrate, by that means to enforce them to give in Evidence against Delinquents, who confessed their faults unto them.
• CAN. XXX.
  Crimes secretly declared unto Ministers by Persons demanding their advice and comfort, Ministers are forbidden to discover them unto the Civil Magistrate, lest reproach should thereby redound upon the Ministry, and Sinners be hindered from coming unto Repentance, and making a free Confession of their Sins. And this shall be a standing Rule for all Crimes revealed to them, unless in Case of High Treason.
• CAN. XXXI.
  If one or more of the People stir up Contention, and do thereby break the Churches Union in any point of Doctrine, or of Discipline, or about the form of Catechising, or Administration of the Sacraments, or of public Prayers, or the Celebration of Marriage, and that private admonitions have not been effectual remedies to appease them; the Consistory of that place shall immediately endeavor to compose and pacify the whole affair without noise, and with all sweetness from the word of God; and in case the Dissenters do not acquiesce therein, the Consistory of that Church shall entreat the Colloquy to assemble at such a time and place as will be most convenient, they having first engaged the said Dissenters in express terms, and upon record to promise, that they will not spread their Opinions in any manner or way till the meeting of the said Colloquy, upon pain of being Censured as Schismatics, excepting always freedom of Conference with Pastors and Elders, in case they have not been instructed. And if the said Dissenters shall refuse to give the said Promises, they shall be censured for Rebels according to our Discipline. And the Colloquy being met shall proceed as was before appointed them. And if the said Dissenters, having been patiently heard and confuted, be fully satisfied, the whole shall be registered, unless the Provincial Synod be requested to assemble, extraordinary necessity so requiring it, at such time and place as the said Colloquy shall judge most convenient, after that the Promises before-mentioned shall have been again repeated by the said Dissenters: The Synod being assembled shall first advise and consider with great and mature deliberation of the matter, places, time and persons, whether it will be expedient that a Conference should be held with the said Dissenters publicly before the People, and with open Doors, and that Audience be given unto any there present to speak or not: However the Decision of the Points in Controversy shall not be left unto any other Judges besides the Delegates of the Provinces, according to the known Canon of our Discipline. And if the said Dissenters refuse to conform, they shall then engage in the same Promises as before, and be dismissed over to the ordinary National Synod; or if necessity so require, that it must be extraordinarily assembled, they shall be heard in it with all holy freedom, and there it shall be finally and entirely determined by the word of God; unto which if they refuse to yield full obedience, and in express terms to disclaim their recorded Errors, they shall be cut off by Excommunication from the Body of our Church.
• CAN. XXXII.
  A Pastor or Elder breaking the Churches Union, or stirring up Contention about any point of Doctrine, or of the Discipline, which he had subscribed, or about the Form of Catechising, or Administration of the Sacraments, or of our Common-Prayers, and Celebration of Marriage, and not conforming to the determination of the Colloquy, he shall be then suspended from his Office, and be farther prosecuted by the Provincial, or National Synod.
• CAN. XXXIII.
  In every Church there shall be kept Memorials of all notable and remarkable passages relating to Religion, and in every Colloquy a Minister shall be appointed to receive them, who shall carry them unto the Provincial, and thence unto the National Synod.

CHAP. VI Of the Union of Churches.

• CANON I.
  NO Church shall claim any Primacy or Jurisdiction over another, nor one Province over another.
• CAN. II.
  No Church shall assume unto itself a power of undertaking business of great consequence, in which the interest or damage of other Churches shall be comprised, without the advice and consent of the Provincial Synod, if it may possibly be Convened. And in case the affair be urgent, it shall at least be Communicated by Letters unto some other Churches in the Province, and they shall receive and take their advice about it.
• CAN. III.
  Churches and particular Members shall be advised, that, whatever persecution may happen, to procure for themselves a private peace and liberty, they do not depart from the Sacred Union of the whole Body of our Churches. And whoever acteth contrary to this Canon, shall have such a Censure inflicted on him, as Colloquies and Synods shall judge expedient.
• CAN. IV.
  Disputes about Religion shall be so managed, that none of ours may be the Aggressors; and if they are engaged in a verbal disputation, they shall in no wise undertake it without laying down this for a Foundation-Rule, That the Holy Scripture is the sole Judge of Controversies, nor shall they yield the power of judgment and decision in points of Doctrine unto the writings of the Ancients; nor shall they enter upon any Disputation, unless the conditions of it be first agreed on by Writings mutually and respectively signed and executed: Nor shall they attempt a public Disputation but with the advice of their Consistory, and of a select number of Pastors, who for this purpose shall be chosen by the Colloquies or Provincial Synods. They shall not adventure upon any dispute or general Conference, without the advice of all the Churches assembled in a National Synod, upon pain, if Ministers act otherwise, of being declared Apostates, and Deserters of the Churches Union.
• CAN. V.
  Churches shall be informed that our Ecclesiastical Assemblies of Colloquies and Synods, whether Provincial or National, are the Bands and Buttresses of their Concord and Union against Schisms, Heresies, and all other inconveniencies; that so they may discharge their duty in the use of means for the continuance and upholding of those Ecclesiastical Assemblies. And in case any Churches, or particular Person, should refuse to contribute unto their expenses who were obliged to be present in those Assemblies, they shall be grievously censured, as Deserters of that Holy Union, which ought to be kept up among us for our mutual preservation. And all Ministers who shall neglect the observation of this Canon, shall be most severely censured by National and Provincial Synods.

  N.B. That the Editions of the Discipline at Paris and Ronan, in the Year 1663. have in the last line of this Canon [National] inserted; but two other Editions of the Years 1666. at Geneva, and 1676. at Quevilly, do omit it, and have only [Provincial Synods.]

CHAP. VII. Of Colloquies.

• CANON I.
  IN every Province the Churches shall be divided according to their number and conveniency of neighbor places into Colloquies or Classes. And this Division shall be made by authority of the Provincial Synod. And the next adjoining Churches shall meet in Colloquies twice or four times a year, if it may be done, as of ancient times it hath been ordained. The appointment of time is left wholly to the prudence of Provinces, and unto these Colloquies the Ministers accompanied each of them with an Elder from every Church, shall give their personal attendance.
• CAN. II.
  And the proper business of such Colloquies and Assemblies, shall be to consult about composing differences and difficulties emerging in their Churches, according to the Canons of our Discipline; and in general to provide for whatsoever may be thought expedient and necessary to the weal and maintenance of our Churches.
• CAN. III.
  And in these Colloquies Ministers in their turns shall make a Proposition from the Word of God, that so their care and diligence in the study of the Scripture, and their method and form of handling it, may be known.
• CAN. IV.
  As Consistories are subject and subordinate unto Colloquies, so are Colloquies unto the authority of Provincial Synods.
• CAN. V.
  Colloquies and Synods shall consult about the extent and bounds of those places in which each Minister shall exercise his Ministry.
• CAN. VI.
  In the close of Colloquies there shall pass a friendly and fraternal Censure upon Pastors and Elders there present, in all matters of which it may be thought fit to admonish them.

CHAP. VIII. Of Provincial Synods.

• CANON I.
  IN all Provinces the Pastors and Elders of every Church shall meet together once or twice a year, if it can be done; which is left unto the prudence and discretion of the Synod.
• CAN. II.
  Ministers shall bring with them one or two Elders at the most, chosen out of their Consistory: And the said Ministers shall bring with them their Commissions. But if a Pastor come alone without an Elder, or an Elder without a Pastor, there shall be no regard had of their Memoirs. And this Canon shall be observed in all Ecclesiastical Assemblies. If they cannot appear, they shall excuse themselves by Letters (on which the Brethren then and there present shall pass judgment,) and send their Memoirs subscribed by one Pastor and Elder. Such as having no lawful excuse shall yet forbear their appearance at Colloquies and Provincial Synods, shall be censured, and the said Colloquies and Provincial Synods may judge definitively of their fact, and dispose of their persons.
• CAN. III.
  Churches which have many Pastors shall depute them by turns unto Colloquies and Synods.
• CAN. IV.
  Ministers and Elders, which are deputed unto Colloquies and Provincial Synods, shall have their expenses defrayed out of the common stock of their Churches.
• CAN. V.
  Those Churches which refuse means unto their Ministers for their appearance at Colloquies and Synods, shall be admonished of this their duty, that they exhibit to them; and in case of failure in it, so that Ministers are enforced to come unto them upon their own charges, after two or three admonitions, they shall be deprived of their Ministry, and the charges of those Ministers shall be defrayed by those Churches unto which they are sent, and in which they now serve; saving always their power of prosecuting that ungrateful Church; which prosecution shall be managed according to the judgment and direction of the Provincial Synod.
• CAN. VI.
  If a difference fall out betwixt a Church, and its Pastor, and in order to its composing the said Church hath been twice advised of the day when, and place where the Synod and Colloquy do meet, and refuseth to appear, notwithstanding the absence of one Party, yet the Synod or Colloquy shall have power to proceed to judgment.
• CAN. VII.
  In all Synods Provincial and National, one of the Pastors by common consent, and a low voice, shall be chosen President, and one or two Scribes. His Office shall be to guide and moderate the whole action, to give notice of the places, days and hours at which the Assemblies shall meet, to begin the Synodical Sessions, to propose and offer matters that are to be deliberated, to gather the particular Suffrages of all the Members, to declare the greatest number, and to pronounce the Conclusion. Item, He shall see that everyone do speak in due order, and without Confusion; He shall silence the Contentious, and in case of Disobedience, he shall command them out of the Synod, that Consultation may be held about their Censure. He shall make all the Remonstrances, and Answers unto them who demand Counsel, or send Letters unto the Synod. Moreover he shall preside at those Censures which shall be made in the close of the whole Action, and all by the advice of the whole Assembly, and not otherwise. His Office shall expire together with the Synod, and the next Synod hath full Liberty to choose him again or another. And all Moderators of Colloquy shall be governed by this self-same Canon.
• CAN. VIII.
  Elders that are Deputies of Churches shall have an equal power of Voting with the Pastors, and the Elders of that place where the Synod shall assemble may be present, and propound matters in their turn. Yet notwithstanding two only of them shall have power of Voting, to avoid all Confusion.
• CAN. IX.
  Whatever hath been decreed by Provincial Synods for the Government of the Churches in their Province, shall be brought up unto the National Synod.
• CAN. X.
  Forasmuch as divers Persons, who that they may decline or delay the effect of Church Censures, passed on them for their offenses, do appeal from one Ecclesiastical Assembly unto another, yea and unto the National Synod also, which is by this means more encumbered about the decision of their matters than of anything else; It is now ordered, that for time to come, whatsoever differences may fall out within the Precincts of any Province, shall be definitively judged, and without Appeal, by the Synod of that Province, unless it be the Case of Suspension, or Deposing of Pastors, Elders and Deacons, or the removal of Pastors from one Province unto another; Item, The changing of a Church in one Colloquy, and joining it unto another; as also whatsoever may concern the Doctrine of the Sacraments, or the whole Body of our Discipline. In all which Cases there shall be a gradual process observed, till they come from the Colloquy to the Provincial, and from the Provincial to the National Synod, that then and there it may receive its last and final judgment.
• CAN. XI.
  If a difference fall out betwixt the Synods of two Provinces, they shall pitch upon a third to reconcile them.
• CAN. XII.
  The Synods in every Province shall keep a Register of the Widows and Children of those Ministers, who died in the service of their Churches, that so they may be holpen and maintained by the common stock and joint charges of all the Provinces, if their necessities do so require it. And in case a Province prove ungrateful, its Deputy shall make report thereof unto the National Synod, that provision may be made for them by its authority.
• CAN. XIII.
  The Deputies of Churches shall not depart from the Synod without leave, and they shall carry home with them the Synodical Decrees.
• CAN. XIV.
  The authority of a Provincial is subordinate unto that of National Synods. According to the Governments shall the Orders which refer unto Colloquies and Provincial Synods, be regulated, without exalting one above another.
• CAN. XV.
  At present the Provincial Synods shall be thus distributed.

  1. The Isle of France, the Land of Chartres, Picardy, Champagne and Brie. 2. Normandy. 3. Britain. 4. Orleans, Blesois, Dunois, Nivernois, Berry, Bourbonnois, & la Marche. 5. Touraine, Anjou, Loudunois, Le Maine, Vandôme, and the Perche. 6. The Higher and Lower Poitou. 7. Saintonge, Aunix, the City and Government of Rochelle, and Augoulmois. 8. The Lower Guienne, Perigord, Gascony, and Limousin. 9. The Higher and Lower Vivaretz, together with Vellay, and Forest. 10. Lower Languedoc, to wit, Nismes, Usez, Montpellier, and as far as Beziers inclusively. 11. The rest of Languedoc, the Higher Guienne, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Quercy, Rovergue, Armagnac, and the Upper Avergne. 12. Burgundy, Lyonnois, Beaujolois, Bresse, the neither Avergne, and Gex. 13. Provence. 14. Dauphiné, and Principality of Orange. 15. The Churches in the Sovereignty of Béarn. 16. The Cévennes and Guevaudan.

• CAN. XVI.
  If it should so fall out, that for the conveniency of a Church it should be divided into two or more, or that more Churches should be united into one, this shall be done by a Provincial Synod, of which also the National shall be advised.
• CAN. XVII.
  If a Minister be deputed by his Provincial Synod to go unto the Synod or Colloquy of another Province, about some common affairs, he shall have his Consultive Vote in it, and not only for that particular business about which he came, but also in all matters transacted during that Sessions, excepting always matters of his own private concern.

  N.B. The two last Editions of the Discipline do make but 16. Canons in this Chapter, and add the 16th unto the 15th Canon of the distribution of the Provinces, as if it were a branch or member of it. But the matter being diverse from it, and my Editions of Quevilly and Paris, in the Year 1663. making 17. I have therefore kept unto them.

CHAP. IX. Of National Synods.

• CANON I.
  NAtional Synods shall be held once every year, if it can possibly be done; and this Order shall be observed for its assembling, That in the closing up of every National Synod a Province shall be chosen, which shall be entrusted with the power of calling the next, and shall be charged to acquaint all the other Provinces with the day and place of its meeting.
• CAN. II.
  If difficult cases should be moved in any one of the Provinces, it shall give notice of it unto that Province, which is charged to assemble the National Synod, and having ordered the time and place of its meeting, the other Provinces shall be acquainted with it, that so they may come unto the Synod ready and well-prepared for a Decision.
• CAN. III.
  And forasmuch as at this time it is very difficult and dangerous to assemble the National Synod in a great number of Ministers and Elders: It is thought good for the present, and till such difficulties can be removed, that the Brethren assembled in every Provincial Synod, shall choose out only two Ministers and Elders, who are Persons of great experience in Church-affairs, to be sent in the name of the whole Province, and these Deputies shall come with ample and sufficient powers, and furnished with good memorials, subscribed by the Moderator and Scribes of the Provincial Synod; and lest any of the Deputies should fail, three or four Pastors more, and as many Elders shall be nominated by the Provincial Synods: that so if the first named Persons should be by any accident hindered from taking their journey, yet others may be at hand to supply their places in the National Synod.

  N.B. That in all Letters of Commission signed by the Provinces to their Deputies unto the National Synods, there was this Clause of submission to be inserted, viz. We promise before God to submit ourselves unto all that shall be concluded and resolved on in your holy Assembly, and to obey, and perform it to the best of our power; being well persuaded, that God presideth in the midst of you, and guideth you by his holy Spirit into all truth and equity by the Rule of his Word, for the weal and benefit of his Church, and the glory of his great Name. Which also we beg of him most ardently in our daily Prayers. See the Acts of the National Synod of Vitre, 1617. in that Canon next after the Catalogue of the Deputies.

• CAN. IV.
  Provincial Synods shall not limit any certain time for the return of the Ministers and Elders whom they had deputed unto the National Synod: but they shall suffer them to tarry at the said Synod so long as there shall be need of their presence and attendance in it, and these Deputies shall have all their expenses born and defrayed out of the common stock of the whole Province.
• CAN. V.
  The Articles of our Confession of Faith, and the Canons of our Church-Discipline, shall be all read at the opening of every National Synod.
• CAN. VI.
  And that the National Synod may not be busied about Questions already determined in the Acts of former National Synods, The Provincial Deputies shall be advised to peruse the Acts of former National Synods before they prepare their Memoirs, and they shall see that nothing be transmitted but what is of common and general concern to all the Churches, and which meriteth the decision of a National Synod.
• CAN. VII.
  All Ecclesiastical matters may be finally decided and resolved by the National Synod, the Provinces having been in the first place informed of them, if possible, by that Province which had the charge of assembling the National Synod.
• CAN. VIII.
  The Decisions shall be only made by the Provincial Deputies; but and if there be in the National Synod other Ministers besides the Deputies, they may propound their judgments as to what may be done, but they shall neither have consultive nor decisive Votes.

  N.B. This Canon is in three Editions, in that of 1653. in that of 1666. and in that 1676. but in those of Paris, and Quevilly, 1663. it is omitted.

• CAN. IX.
  Those that appeal from Provincial Synods unto the National, shall be bound to be present in Person at it, or else they shall send unto it most ample Memoirs, with a lawful excuse for their absence: And on default hereof the Sentence of the Provincial Synod shall be ratified. The same course shall be taken with Appeals from Consistories unto Colloquies, and from Colloquies unto the Provincial Synods.
• CAN. X.
  The Provincial Deputies shall not depart from the National Synod without carrying home with them the Synodical Decrees, subscribed by the President and Scribe: and a month after their return they shall give notice thereof unto the Colloquies of their Province, that so they may send for the Acts of the said Synod, and this at the sole charge of the said Colloquies.
• CAN. XI.
  And that Synodical Acts may be preserved, and that they may be of use and service in after times for the determining of Controversies which may be propounded for resolution unto our National Synods; The said Acts both for the time past and to come, and all others which concern those Synods, as also the Canons of Church-Discipline, and the Confession of Faith of the Reformed Churches in this Kingdom, shall be left in custody with the Provincial Deputies, who are appointed to call the next National Synod, and that Province shall be obliged to bring them unto the Synod.
• CAN. XII.
  Before the breaking up of National Synods there shall be an amicable and fraternal Censure of all the Deputies, Ministers and Elders, about those matters only which had been managed during its Sessions, and whatever did in general respect their Provinces. And the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be Celebrated and partaken by them in testimony of their Cordial Union. Provided always that this holy Sacrament shall be Communicated in with that very Church in which they held their Synodical Assembly, and for this purpose the said Church shall be admonished to prepare themselves for it.

CHAP. X. Of Religious Exercises performed in the Assemblies of the Faithful

• CANON I.
  THat great irreverence, which is found in divers Persons, who at public and private Prayers do neither uncover their Heads, nor bow their Knees, shall be reformed, which is a matter repugnant unto Piety, and giveth suspicion of Pride, and doth scandalize them that fear God. Wherefore all Pastors shall be advised, as also Elders and Heads of Families, carefully to oversee, that in time of Prayer, all Persons without exception or acceptation, do evidence by those exterior signs the inward humility of their hearts, and of that homage yielded by them unto God, unless any one be hindered from so doing by sickness or otherwise; the judgment of which shall be remitted to the testimony of their own particular Consciences.
• CAN. II.
  Singing of God's praises being a divine Ordinance, and to be performed in the Congregations of the Faithful, and for that by the use of Psalms their hearts be comforted and strengthened; Everyone shall be advertised to bring with them their Psalm-Books unto those Assemblies; and such as through contempt of this holy Ordinance do forbear the having of them, shall be censured, as also those, who in time of singing, both before and after Sermon, are not uncovered, as also when the Holy Sacraments are Celebrated.
• CAN. III.
  In times of sore Persection, and of War, Pestilence, or Famine, or any other grievous affliction; Item, when as Ministers of the Gospel are to be Ordained, and when as question is moved about calling a National Synod, one day or more may be set a part for public and extraordinary Prayers, and Fasting; yet without any scruple or superstition, and all this shall be done upon mature consideration of the grounds and causes of these Providences. And the Churches shall be advised to celebrate the Fast, as much as possible they can, unanimously at the same time, provided they have conveniency of times and places for it.
• CAN. IV.
  Whereas divers Churches have been accustomed to use public Prayers on some particular day, they may, if they like it, retain this their practice, which for many years they have so happily observed, and others also may conform to it according to those means which God may graciously afford them, and which their edification may require. And all Pastors in the careful and faithful discharge of the duties of their Function, shall by their most serious Remonstrances and Exhortations, remove that contempt, of which too many are guilty, who disdain to frequent Sermons, and neglect that Ordinance of Family-Prayers, which ought daily to be performed in private Houses by the respective Heads of Houses, with their Families and Domesticks. And all Churches in which over and besides Preaching of God's holy Word, there hath been usually performed Morning and Evening Prayers on those days in which they had Sermons, or in the Evenings of every day are exhorted to conform herein unto those Churches which have no such Custom; that so Superstition may be nipped in the bud, and that common carelessness, and notorious neglect of Sermons and Family Prayers, may be quite banished. Because the usage of common public Prayers should only be reserved for times of distress and affliction, as the general public Fast is an Ordinance only to be used upon extraordinary occasions, and therefore ought not to be brought into ordinary common practice. For which causes those of our people who have had this Custom, shall be advertised by their Pastors to lay them down quietly, that no scandal may be taken at them. And all Heads of Families shall be carefully admonished to pray ordinarily twice a day in the Morning and Evening with their Housholds.

  N.B. That this part of the Canon, which is in a different Character from the former, is not to be found in my Copies and Editions of 1653, 1666, and 1676. But it is in express words in the Editions of Paris and Quevilly, in the Year 1663. What were the grounds of the omission, I know not, guess I do. Those of Geneva might not have a perfect Copy of the Synodical Acts, and so Printed it according to what they had. The Reverend Pastors of Paris and Rouen, were obliged, at least their Consistories, to oversee all the Impressions and Editions of the Confession and Discipline, and they having in their Archives the best and most authentic Acts of their National Synods, might therefore see that this Canon should be Printed in its fullest and most comprehensive expressions. Sure I am this Canon was made and ratified in the Synod of St. Foy, 1578. Canon 12. and in the Synod of Montpellier, 1598. Canon the 18th of General Matters, and in the Synod of Tonneins, 1614. Canon the 4th of General Matters.

• CAN. V.
  At Funerals there shall be neither Prayers, nor Sermons, nor any dole of public Alms; that so all Superstitions, and other inconveniences may be avoided; and those who attend the dead Corps unto its Sepulcher, shall be exhorted to behave themselves modestly whilst they follow it, meditating according to the object presented to them, upon the miseries and brevity of this Life, and the hopes of one more happy in the World to come.
• CAN. VI.
  Forasmuch as Mourning consisteth not in habits but in heart, the Godly shall be admonished to demean themselves with a modest decency, and to reject all Ambition, Hypocrisy, Vanity and Superstition.

CHAP. XI. Of Baptism.

• CANON I.
  BAptism administered by an Unordained Person is wholly void and null.
• CAN. II.
  A Doctor in a Church may not preach nor administer the Sacraments, unless that he be at the same time both Doctor and Minister.
• CAN. III.
  A Jew or Pagan of what age soever he be, shall not be baptized till he have been first instructed in the Christian Faith, and that he give evident proof thereof by his Confession.

  N.B. You may see the Form of Baptizing Jews and Infidels, in the Acts and Canons of the National Synod of Charenton, in the Year 1644. where it is at large inserted; and I must crave my Readers Pardon for not transcribing it.

• CAN. IV.
  Children, both whose Parents are Members of the Church of Rome, and those of Excommunicated Persons, shall not be baptized in our Reformed Churches, although they were presented by Godly Sureties, unless the Father, or Mother, when there is no Father, shall consent and require it, and shall have resigned up their Authority unto the Sureties, by giving and granting them their right of Education, with Promise of suffering their Children to be educated and instructed in the true Religion.
• CAN. V.
  The Children also of Sarazins and Gipsies may be admitted unto Baptism in our Reformed Churches upon those conditions before mentioned; provided that there be not any presumption of their having been already baptized, and the Sureties being first seriously admonished to consider how they can acquit themselves of their obligation and promise made unto the Church; and moreover, that those very Sureties will undertake for the Religious Education and instruction of those Children.
• CAN. VI.
  No Baptism shall be administered but in Church-Assemblies, or where there is a formed public Church. But where there is no public Church, and the Parents through infirmity are afraid to carry them unto public Baptism in the Congregation, Ministers shall consult how far in prudence they ought to yield unto them. Yet nevertheless there shall be some face of a Church, and both Exhortation and Prayer; but if there be no Church, and a Congregation cannot be assembled, the Minister shall not make any difficulty to baptize the Infants of believing Parents tendered to him, with Exhortation and Prayer.
• CAN. VII.
  Forasmuch as we have no Commandment from the Lord to take God-Fathers, or God-Mothers, who may present our Children unto Baptism, there cannot be any particular Canon made which shall bind Persons to do it. But since it is a very ancient Custom, and introduced for a good end, to wit, to testify the Sureties Faith, and the Baptism of the Infant, and also for that they charge themselves with the care of educating the Child, in case it should be deprived of its Parents by death; and for that it doth maintain a sweet Communion among the Faithful by a Conjunction of Friendship, they who will not observe it, but will by themselves present their own Children, shall be earnestly entreated not to be Contentious, but to conform unto the ancient and accustomed Order, it being very good and profitable.

  N.B. The Clause inserted in the middle of this Canon is in my two best Editions of Paris and Rouen, though it be left out in the three others, and therefore I have caused it to be put into another Character.

• CAN. VIII.
  Women shall not be admitted to present Children unto Baptism unless they be accompanied with a Godfather, and that they have made profession of our holy Christian Reformed Religion.
• CAN. IX.
  A Surety coming from another Church shall not be admitted to present a Child unto Baptism, unless he bring with him a Certificate from his own Church.
• CAN. X.
  Such as present Children unto Baptism shall be of sufficient Age, in their fourteenth year at least, and shall have Communicated at the Lord's Table; or if they be well stricken in years, and have not as yet received the blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, they shall protest seriously that they will do it, and in order to it, that they will suffer themselves duly to be Catechised.
• CAN. XI.
  Persons suspended from the Lord's Supper may not in the quality of Sureties present Children unto Baptism, so long as their Suspension shall stand in force against them.
• CAN. XII.
  Pastors shall diligently exhort all Godfathers and Godmothers to weigh and consider their Promises made at the Celebration of Baptism, and Parents also to choose such Sureties for their Children as are well-instructed in Religion, and of a Godly Life and Conversation, and that are as much as may be of their Acquaintance, and by whose means, if there should be a necessity for it in the course of God's Providence, it is most likely that their Children will have a Religious Education.
• CAN. XIII.
  Such as by their Proxies presen • Children to be baptized in the Church of Rome, shall be severely censured, because they consent thereby unto Idolatry.
• CAN. XIV.
  As for Names which are given Children in Baptism, Ministers shall reject, if it can possibly be done, and without any inconvenience, those which yet remain of old Paganism, nor shall they impose on the said Children the Names ascribed unto God in Scripture, as Immanuel, and others of like nature. Moreover Parents and Sureties shall be admonished to take Names approved in the holy Scriptures; or if they fancy any other, they may be accepted; excepting always those before mentioned, and those which signify a matter which is unseemly.
• CAN. XV.
  Ministers shall admonish their Flocks to demean themselves most reverently at the Administration of Baptism; And that the contempt of Baptism, which is expressed by too many, even the far greater part of our People by going out of the Assembly, or carrying themselves irreverently at its Administration, may be avoided for the future, it hath been judged meet that this holy Sacrament shall be administered before the singing of the last Psalm, or at least before the giving of the Pastoral Blessing: And the People shall be carefully admonished to behave themselves with the self same Reverence in the administration of Baptism, as in that Sacrament of the Lord's Supper: forasmuch as Jesus Christ and all his benefits are alike equally exhibited and offered to us in both the Sacraments.
• CAN. XVI.
  Consistories shall have an eye over such persons, as do without any great and urgent cause defer for a long time together the Baptism of their Children.
• CAN. XVII.
  Although the Wife of a Believing Husband be of a contrary Religion, yet is he in no wise to be excused, if that his Child be presented unto Baptism in the Church of Rome; and therefore he shall not be received unto the Lord's Supper, unless he have to the utmost of his power labored to prevent it.
• CAN. XVIII.
  All Baptisms shall be Registred, and carefully kept in the Church-Books, together with the Names of both the Parents, Sureties, and of the Children baptized, which shall be subscribed by the Minister's own hand, who did baptize them. And when as Children shall be presented unto baptism, The Parents and Sureties shall be obliged to bring with them a Note, in which shall be inserted the Name of the Child, of its Parents and Sureties, and the day of its Nativity.
• CAN. XIX.
  The Parents Names of Bastards, Children born of an Illegitimate Conjunction, if they be known, shall be Recorded in the Book of Baptisms, unless of those Children who are born in Incest. That so the very Remembrance of such an enormous Wickedness may be forever buried in the Grave of Forgetfulness. In which case it shall be sufficient only to have nominated the Mother, together with the Sureties who shall present the Child to Baptism. And in the Baptising of all Illegitimate Children express mention shall be made that they were born out of holy Wedlock.

CHAP. XII. Of the Lord's Supper.

• CANON I.
  WHere there is no Form of a Church, the Lord's Supper shall not be administered.
• CAN. II.
  Children under twelve years of Age shall not be admitted unto the Lord's Table; but as for others who are above that Age, it is left unto the Minister's discretion to judge whether they have sufficient knowledge to qualify them for their admission to it.
• CAN. III.
  Priests, Monks, and other Ecclesiastics belonging to the Church of Rome, shall not be admitted to the Lord's Supper, till they have first made a public acknowledgment of their former Life and profession.
• CAN. IV.
  Incumbents, who retain the name and title of their Benefices, and all other persons, who do either directly or indirectly participate in Idolatry, whether they receive the Income of their Benefices with their own hands, or the hands of others, shall not be admitted to Communion with us at the Lord's Table.
• CAN. V.
  Ministers shall have notice given them not to receive unto the Lord's Supper the Members of other Churches, without having a sufficient Testimonial from their Pastor, or in default thereof from an Elder, if it may be had.
• CAN. VI.
  A Man dumb and deaf demonstrating his sense of Piety and Religion by evident signs, tokens and gestures, may be received unto the Lord's Table, in case the Church hath experience of his holy Life, and can perceive that he hath Faith, and the true Knowledge of God.
• CAN. VII.
  The Bread in the Lord's Supper shall be administered unto them, who cannot drink Wine; they protesting seriously, that it is not out of contempt that they do forbear it; besides they doing their utmost endeavor for it, yea bringing the Cup as near unto their Mouth as they can, and taking and touching it with their Lips, all occasions of offense will be by this means in this case avoided.
• CAN. VIII.
  Pastors are left at liberty in giving the Bread and Wine, to use the accustomed words, it being a thing purely indifferent, provided that they use such words as tend to edifying.
• CAN. IX.
  The Churches shall be informed that it belongeth only unto Ministers to give the Cup.
• CAN. X.
  Forasmuch as when the Lord's Supper is administered, sundry diseased Persons come unto it, which causeth many that are in health to be shy of taking the Cup after them, Pastors and Elders shall be admonished to use their greatest prudence, that godly order may be kept up and observed in this Case.
• CAN. XI.
  Such as having been a long while Members of the Church, and refuse Communion with it at the Lord's Table, if it be done out of contempt, and through fear of being obliged to renounce all Idolatry, after divers admonitions given them, and they not reforming, they shall be cut off from the Body of the Church; but if it be through infirmity, they shall be born withal for some space of time till they be more established in the Faith.
• CAN. XII.
  Such as care not to come unto our public Christian Congregations, but only upon those days when the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is Celebrated, shall be reproved and admonished of their duty, and to this purpose they shall join themselves unto one certain particular Church.

  N. B. This last Clause is only in my Edition of Paris and Rouen, 1663.

• CAN. XIII.
  The Faithful, who make a trade of hearing the Word of God in one Church, and of receiving the Sacraments in another, shall be censured, and by the advice of the Colloquy, or Provincial Synod, they shall be appointed to join themselves unto that Church, which is nearest, and most convenient for them.

  N. B. Provincial Synod is only in my Parisian, and Quevilly Edition.

• CAN. XIV.
  Although it hath not been the Custom to administer the Lord's Supper in the greatest part of our Churches more than four times a year, yet it were to be desired that it might be oftener, so that the Reverence which is needful for this holy Sacrament could be kept up and observed. Because it is most profitable for the Children of God to be exercised and grow in Faith by the frequent use of the Sacraments; and the Example of the Primitive Church doth invite us to it. And therefore our National Synods shall take that care and order in this matter as is requisite for the weal and happiness of our Churches.

CHAP. XIII. Of Marriages.

• CANON I.
  SUch as are under Age shall not Contract Marriage without the Consent of their Parents, or of those other Persons under whose power they be: Howbeit if their said Parents should be so unreasonable as not to yield unto so sacred and needful an Ordinance, yea and refuse their consent merely out of hatred to Religion, the Consistory shall advise the Parties to apply themselves unto the Civil Magistrate.
• CAN. II.
  Such as are of Years, and in possession of their Estates, shall be admonished by the Minister in the public Church-Assemblies, not to make any Promise of Marriage but in the presence of their Parents, Friends, Neighbors, and Persons in reputation for Godliness. And such as do otherwise, shall be censured for their lightness and contempt of the said admonition. And it were very meet that those Promises of Marriage were performed with solemn Prayers.
• CAN. III.
  The Faithful that are of Age, although they have been Married, shall notwithstanding so far honor their Parents, as not to Contract Marriage without having first acquainted them therewith, and in case of failure herein, they shall be censured by the Consistory.
• CAN. IV.
  Fathers and Mothers professing the Reformed Religion, whose Children being Idolaters, would marry themselves unto Idolatrous Women, shall be advised, if possibly they can do it, to hinder their said Children from Contracting such Marriages, especially if they be not as yet emancipated from under their Authority: and Fathers shall employ their Paternal Power to prevent and hinder them; but and if they cannot so far prevail, yet at passing the Marriage Contracts, they shall protest their abhorrency of that Idolatry into which their Children will deeper plunge themselves. And this being done, the Parents may consent unto the Promises and Conditions about the Dowry and other such like matters, and they shall give in evidence unto their Consistory of those endeavors they have used to hinder such Marriages.
• CAN. V.
  For time to come all Promises of Marriages, and Espousals, shall be performed by words de futuro, which shall not be counted as indissolvible as words de praesenti. Because words de praesenti do not so much promise Marriage, as in effect consummate it. Yet nevertheless those promises by words de futuro, shall not be dissolved without very great and lawful causes. Wherefore the Custom of those Churches is condemned, which celebrateth Espousals (betrothings) by the Ministry and Benediction of their Pastors, with gift of Body, and words de praesenti. For by such Solemnity the Parties are truly and actually conjoined in Marriage, so that the Banes are preposterous, and published after the Marriage is Consummated, and a second Benediction is rendered needless and superfluous. True indeed 'tis not thought evil, that Pastors should assist at Espousals, and pray and exhort the Parties unto mutual love, faithfulness, and the fear of God, provided that they forbear all other formalities, which are of none other use than to make a Bond indissolvible, which oftentimes we are constrained to break again upon oppositions made when the Banes are published, and because of other accidental hindrances. For these reasons also those Churches which solemnize Espousals in their Temples with the same public Benediction as at Marriage, are exhorted to lay down this their Custom, and to conform themselves unto our Churches in all the other Provinces of this Kingdom.

  N. B. The addition unto this Canon, which is Printed in another Character, is only found in my Parisian and Quevilly Editions of the Discipline, yet grounded upon very many Acts of several National Synods. See Syn. of Poitiers Art. 2. of Partic. Matters, 1560. The Syn. of Saumur, 1597. Art. 25. concerning Observations upon the Discipline. The Synod of Privas, 1612. Art. 9. of Observations upon the Discipline. The Syn. of Alez, 1620. Art. 14. of Observations upon the Discipline.

• CAN. VI.
  In Consanguinities and Affinities the faithful may not Contract Marriage, but with the Kings Licence, according to the Edict.
• CAN. VII.
  It is utterly unlawful to Petition the Pope for a Dispensation of the Impediments of Marriage, which is already, or may be hereafter accomplished; because in so doing there would be an owning of his Tyranny: Yet we may warrantably address ourselves unto the King for a Dispensation in degrees not prohibited by God, nor by the Civil Government.
• CAN. VIII.
  Spiritual Kindred, as they be called, are not at all comprehended nor understood by those words of Consanguinity and Affinity in the Kings Edict, nor do they hinder any Marriage-Contracts.
• CAN. IX.
  It is not lawful for any Man to Marry the Sister of his Deceased Wife; for such Marriages are prohibited, not only by the Laws of the Land, but by the word of God. And although by the Law of Moses it was ordained, that when the Brother died without Children, his Brother should raise up Seed unto him, yet that Law enacted for the Children of Israel was temporary, relating only to the preservation of the Tribes of that People. But the Marriage of a Sister of a Betrothed and Deceased Wife, is of another Nature; because that Alliance was not Contracted by a Commixture of Blood: therefore such a Marriage may be admitted and approved. Yet notwithstanding all possible care shall be taken, that neither the Civil Magistrate, nor weak Christians may be offended.
• CAN. X.
  A Man may not marry the Mother of his Deceased Spouse, to whom he was betrothed, without an Order from the Civil Magistrate, which shall be waited for both by the Pastor, and the Parties Contracting that Marriage.

  N. B. This last Clause of the Canon is only in my Parisian and Quevilly Editions.

• CAN. XI.
  Likewise a Man may not marry his Wife's Aunt, such a Marriage being Incestuous; and although the Magistrate should permit it, yet shall it not be Solemnized in our Assemblies. And therefore all Pastors are carefully to keep themselves from it. And by parity of reason the Marriage of an Uncle with his Niece, or with the grand Niece of his deceased Wife, is also Incestuous.
• CAN. XII.
  Although Civility and Decency may oppose the Marriage of a Man with the Widow of his Wife's Brother, yet in case the Civil Magistrate do authorize the Contract, the Churches shall not make any difficulty to bless such a Marriage. Provided, that there be good evidence that the said Contract hath been first allowed and approved by the authority of the Civil Magistrate.

  N. B. These last Clauses of this Canon Printed in another Character, are only in my Editions of Paris and Rouen.

• CAN. XIII.
  No Man after his Wife's Death shall marry her with whom he had committed Adultery during her Life; unless that such a Marriage were authorized by the Civil Magistrate.
• CAN. XIV.
  Forasmuch as the principal end of Marriage is to procreate Children, and to avoid Fornication, the Marriage of an Eunuch, that is so known, shall not be admitted nor solemnized in any of our Reformed Churches.
• CAN. XV.
  All Marriages shall be propounded unto the Consistories with a sufficient Certificate of the Promises.
• CAN. XVI.
  The Banes of Matrimony shall be published in those places where the Parties dwell: and if they have a mind to celebrate their Marriage elsewhere, they shall carry with them a sufficient Certificate, that the Banes have been thrice published.
• CAN. XVII.
  The Banes shall be published on three Sabbath-Days following in those places where the Word of God is Preached, and in other places when as Common-Prayers are read. However it be, yet there shall be the space of fifteen days between the Publication of the Banes, and the Solemnizal of the Marriage in the Congregation, which may be performed on the third Sabbath.
• CAN. XVIII.
  Such as live in those places, where the public Exercise of Religion is not established, may cause their Banes to be published in the Popish Churches, because it is a matter purely Political.
• CAN. XIX.
  The Churches shall not suffer any Persons to be Married without an ample knowledge and approbation of them.
• CAN. XX.
  If one of the Parties be of a contrary Religion, the Marriage-Promises shall not be received nor published in the Church, unless that Party of the contrary Religion have been sufficiently instructed, and have publicity protested in the Church of that place where the said Party shall be known, that from a good Conscience he doth renounce all Superstition and Idolatry, and particularly the Mass, and that he will through Divine Grace persevere the residue of his days in the pure worship of God: of which instruction the Consistory of that Church shall take Cognisance, in which that Protestation shall be made. And it shall not be lawful for any Pastor or Consistories to do otherwise, on pain of being Suspended, yea, and deposed from their Offices.
• CAN. XXI.
  If one of the Parties, who would Marry, be Excommunicate, the Marriage shall not be permitted to be Solemnized in any one of our Churches, unless that the Excommunicate Person shall have acknowledged and done Penance for his Offences. But as for suspended Persons from the Lord's Table, the Consistories may permit them to marry, notwithstanding their Suspension, but yet not without taking Cognisance of their Cause.
• CAN. XXII.
  The Banes of Widows who desire to marry again, shall not be published in the Church, till at least seven Months and an half be expired after their Husbands Death; that so all Scandals and Inconveniencies, which might afterwards fall out, may be prevented, unless in such a Case in which the Civil Magistrate hath interposed his Judicial Sentence to the contrary.
• CAN. XXIII.
  All Marriages shall be publicly Solemnized in the Religious Assemblies of the Faithful, according to the word of God, and by the Ministry of the Pastors, and not of any others.

  N. B. That middle Clause in another Character, is only in my Parisian and Quevilly Editions of the Discipline.

• CAN. XXIV.
  For the good order of our Churches no Marriage shall be Solemnized on those days in which the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is Administred. And this Canon shall not be broken but upon very great Considerations, of which the Consistory shall take Cognisance. Moreover no Marriages shall be Solemnized on Days of public Prayer and Fasting.
• CAN. XXV.
  Such as being betrothed shall cohabit together as Man and Wife, before they be lawfully and solemnly Married, whether their offense do come to light before or after the Solemnizal of the Marriage, they shall do public Penance for this their Offence, or at least they shall acknowledge it before the Consistory, either way as the discretion of the Consistory shall appoint. And if it be discovered before Marriage, then shall there upon the Wedding day, before they do proceed to complete the Marriage, be such Ceremonies and Censures used as the Consistory shall judge fitting; unless those Persons had cohabited together in the days of their Ignorance, without despising or contempt of our Church-Government. And those also who cohabited as Man and Wife, when as there was no Church erected in the places of their Habitation, or in the Province, and all these shall only be called into the Consistory, that so their Marriage may be ratified and Celebrated in the Church of God, if the Consistory shall judge it to be expedient.
• CAN. XXVI.
  That those inconveniencies may be avoided which fall out through overlong delays of Solemnizing Marriages, the Parties, and those Persons under whose power they are, shall be advised not to defer the Consummation thereof any longer than six Weeks after publication of the Banes, if it be possible.
• CAN. XXVII.
  All Marriages shall be Registred, and carefully kept in the Church-Books.
• CAN. XXVIII.
  The Faithful, whose Partners are convicted of Adultery, may be admonished to a reconcilement with them: but in case they will not do it, that Liberty, which God in his holy Word hath granted them, shall be declared to them. But if it be the hap of a Church-Officer, he shall not take his Wife again, or if he do, he shall lay down his Office.
• CAN. XXIX.
  This course shall be taken about Divorces for Adultery. The Innocent wronged Party shall prosecute at Law, before the Civil Magistrate, the Delinquent so long, till that by his definitive Sentence, and final Judgment, she be duly Convicted; which Sentence the wronged Party shall produce before the Consistory, and then the Consistory shall declare unto him that Liberty, which God in his holy Word hath given him. But in regard of our present difficulties, the Ministers of this Kingdom are advised not to re-marry the said Parties, to whom this Liberty of providing themselves elsewhere hath been granted. And as for the Delinquent Party, there shall be very great and mature Deliberation used, before she have any Liberty at all allowed Her.
• CAN. XXX.
  If it should fall out that after Marriage-Promises have past, and before its accomplishment, a betrothed Woman be found to have played the Whore, either before or after the said Promises, and that it was unknown to him, who had promised her Marriage, a definitive Sentence being given by the Magistrate upon it, the Consistory may proceed to bless a new Marriage. And the betrothed Woman shall have the same Liberty, if it be found that her betrothed Husband had committed Fornication after he had made her Promises of Marriage.
• CAN. XXXI.
  Women whose Husbands are gone away, and have absented themselves a long time about Mercantile affairs, or for other Causes, if they demand Licence to be Married again, they shall have recourse unto the Civil Magistrate.
• CAN. XXXII.
  As for the Wives of Priests and Monks, who turn Apostates, and return unto their old Idolatry, chanting Masses, or re-entering into their Cells, from which they had formerly departed, they shall be admonished not to cohabit with their said Husbands during their Apostasy, that God's Ordinance of Marriage may not be loaden with reproach and infamy, nor may they marry any other, until such time as their first Marriage shall be dissolved by the Civil Magistrate.

CHAP. XIV. Of particular Orders and Advertisements.

• CANON I.
  NO Person shall be received into Communion with the Church, till such time as be have first publicly renounced all the Superstitions and Idolatries of the Romish Church, and in particular the Mass.
• CAN. II.
  No godly Man shall be allowed to intermeddle with any matters conjoined with Idolatry, such as those they call the Baisemains, or Le Dedans de Leglise, nor to cause Masses and Vigils to be said, nor to ordain Monks▪ who be solely ordained to this purpose. But to hold Priories, Revenues, Rents, Chanteries, and Tithes, and to pay the profits of them unto the Popish Ecclesiastics, for as much as they be Temporal Lord's, it is a thing indifferent, and they that will do it may take their Liberty. Nevertheless the Faithful shall be advised not to intermeddle with these matters if they find any abuses in them, or an appearance of evil Consequences, of all which Consistories and Colloquies shall pass a prudent judgment.
• CAN. III.
  Such as by unlawful means, as by Papal Bulls, or a sum of money, shall buy or hold Benefices, or such as in like manner shall directly or indirectly maintain Idolatry, shall be denounced Persons utterly unworthy of Communion with our Churches in the holy Supper of the Lord, nor shall they be admitted to it. And as for Benefices, of which any one may have an Advowsonage, whether by Presentation from the Lord of the Manor, a Lay-Patron, or by the Bishops Gift, the Faithful are advised not to accept of them, though tendered to them, if there be a tacit or express condition of any service to be performed unto the Idol.
• CAN. IV.
  Printers, Booksellers, Painters, and other Artificers, and in general all the Faithful, and particularly such as bear Office in the Church, shall be admonished that they do not in the least act anything in their Calling that tends directly to countenance the Superstitions of the Church of Rome; and as for secret Acts, and the Censure incurred by them, their judgment is left unto the Consistory.
• CAN. V.
  Notaries, Scrivenors, and others, who by the Duty of their Callings are obliged to sign and seal indifferently all matters which are brought unto them, they shall not be censured for receiving Testaments, passing Contracts, and expediting Letters, which concern Idolatry, nor Judges for their judging Causes concerning Ecclesiastical Estates, and the Execution of the Edict.
• CAN. VI.
  Arbitrators shall not in any manner of way intermeddle with things, which concern Idolatry, either directly or indirectly.
• CAN. VII.
  Neither Counselors nor Attorneys at Law shall plead in those Causes which tend to the suppression of the Ministry of the Gospel, or to the setting up of Mass, nor shall they in any manner of way whatsoever be allowed to give their advice or assistance unto the Romish Churchmen, in those Causes which do either directly or indirectly tend unto the oppression of a Reformed Church.
• CAN. VIII.
  Neither Bishops, nor Officials, nor Arch-Deacons, as they be now Constituted, have of right any Civil or Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction. However because the Faithful are sometimes constrained to appear before them for obtaining their own just dues, which otherwise would be detained from them, in case they he turned over to them by the Civil Magistrate (to whom they shall first make their applications) they may warrantably enough have recourse unto them.
• CAN. IX.
  Godly Advocates ought not in any wise to plead in the Officials-Court; unless in those Cases in which they be necessitated to prosecute the right of their Clients before them, according to the last foregoing Canon.
• CAN. X.
  It is not in itself unlawful to exercise civil Jurisdictions, as to act as Attorneys for and under Ecclesiastical Persons, unless in such Cases, which they call spiritual.
• CAN. XI.
  The Faithful may not take out, or cause to be Executed, any Monitory or Writ of Excommunication from the Church of Rome.
• CAN. XII.
  Forasmuch as it is neither lawful not expedient to heat the Popish Preachers, nor any others who have intruded themselves without a lawful Call, the Flocks shall be hindered by their Pastors from going to them, and such as shall go, they shall be called into the Consistory, and Censured according to the nature of their offense.
• CAN. XIII.
  Lord's, Gentlemen and others, shall be admonished according to the Discipline of our Church, not to entertain in their Houses, any scandalous or incorrigible Persons, and above all, that they do not suffer any Priests to sing Mass, or to dogmatize and debauch their Domesticks, nor shall they admit of any such again into their service, if they have once discarded them.
• CAN. XIV.
  Fathers and Mothers shall be exhorted to be very careful of their Children's Education, which are the Seed-Plot, and promising hopes of God's Church. And therefore such as send them to School to be taught by Priests, Monks, Jesuits and Nuns, they shall be prosecuted with all Church-Censures. Those also shall be Censured who dispose of their Children to be Pages, or Servant unto Lord's and Gentlemen of the contrary Religion.
• CAN. XV.
  They whose Brethren, Sisters, or other Kindred, have quitted their Monasteries to serve God in liberty of Conscience, shall be exhorted to relieve them, and to provide for them according to the duties of humanity and Consanguinity.
• CAN. XVI.
  Neither Ministers nor other Members of the Church may print any Books composed by themselves or others concerning Religion, nor may they at all publish them, until they have first Communicated them unto the Colloquy, or if need be, unto the Provincial Synod. And in case the matter be urgent (requiring speedy dispatch) unto the Universities, or to two Pastors appointed by the Synod, who shall attest under their own hands, that they have perused and examined the said Writings.
• CAN. XVII.
  They that handle the Histories of holy Scripture in Poems, are admonished not to blend or intermingle Poetic Fables with them, nor to give unto God the names of a false God, nor to add unto, nor take anything from the Sacred Scriptures; but they shall confine themselves as near as they can unto the words of it.
• CAN. XVIII.
  Neither the Canonical nor other Books of the Bible shall be transformed into Comedies or Tragedies.
• CAN. XIX.
  Churches, which have Printers belonging to them, shall advise them not to print any Books concerning Religion, or the Discipline of the Church, without having first Communicated them unto the Consistory, because of those manifold Inconveniencies, which have formerly happened upon this account. And neither Printers, nor Booksellers, nor Hawkers, shall sell any Books of Idolatry, or that be Scandalous, stuffed with Ribauldry, or Impiety, which tend to the corrupting of good Manners.
• CAN. XX.
  Although Priests cannot lay any just claim or title unto Tithes in regard of their Ministry: yet nevertheless they must be paid, because of the King's Command, and for the avoidance of Scandal and Sedition.
• CAN. XXI.
  According to his Majesty's Edict the Faithful shall be exhorted to give none offense by working upon Holy-Days.
• CAN. XXII.
  All Usuries shall be most strictly forbidden and suppressed, and matters of Loan shall be regulated according to the Kings Ordinance, and the Rule of Charity.
• CAN. XXIII.
  All violence and injurious words against the Members of the Church of Rome, as also against Priests and Monks, shall not only be forborne, but also as much as may be shall be totally suppressed.
• CAN. XXIV.
  Swearers, who in passion or levity do take God's holy Name in vain, and others who blaspheme the Divine Majesty, shall be most severely censured; and if after the second admonition they be not reclaimed, they shall be then suspended from the Lord's Table. And all Outragious Blasphemers, Forswearers, and such like Persons, shall in no wise be tolerated in Church-Communion: But immediately for their first offense shall be suspended the Lord's Supper: and if they continue in their Ungodliness, they shall be publicly Excommunicated.
• CAN. XXV.
  The Churches shall admonish the Faithful of both Sexes to retain Modesty, and that most especially in their Habits, and shall take care, that all Superfluities, heretofore committed in them, may be retrenched. But yet our Churches shall not make any Decree about it, because it is an affair properly belonging unto the Civil Magistrate; yet may they endeavor by their Remonstrances, that his Majesty's Edict concerning these matters be more diligently observed.
• CAN. XXVI.
  No Person shall be deprived of Communion at the Lord's Table for wearing any fashion of Apparel, which is ordinarily and usually worn in this Kingdom. But under this head those ought not to be comprised which carry with them a notorious Badge of Lasciviousness, dissolution, or over-curious novelty, such as naked Breasts, Painting, and the like, with which Men and Women clothe and abuse themselves. And Consistories shall do their utmost to suppress these Impieties, and shall proceed against the Refractory by Suspension from the Lord's Table.

  N. B. That Clause in the middle of this Canon, Printed in another Letter, is found in my Parisian and Quevilly Editions of the Discipline, yet enjoined by the National Synods held at St. Foy, 1578. Canon 21. of General Matters. The second of Rochelle, 1581. Art. 41. Explaining the 26 Canon in the last Chapter of the Discipline, and the Synod of Montauban, 1594. Canon 45. of General Matters.

• CAN. XXVII.
  All Dances shall be suppressed, and such as make a Trade of Dancing, or make Custom of being present at Dances, having been sundry times admonished, in case they prove contumacious and Rebellious, they shall be Excommunicated, and all Consistories are charged to see that this Canon be most heedfully kept and observed, and in the name of God, and by the Authority of this Synod, that it be read publicly in their Churches. And Colloquies and Provincial Synods are exhorted to have an observing eye on those Consistories, which shall not perform their duty in this particular, that they may be censured.

  N.B. Provincial Synods is left out by pure omission from my other Editions but those of Paris and Quevilly.

• CAN. XXVIII.
  Mummings and Juglings shall not be suffered, nor Wassail-days, nor keeping of Shrovetide, nor Players at Heypass, nor Tumblers, nor Tricks of Goblets, nor Puppet-Plays; and Christian Magistrates are exhorted not to permit them, because they do feed curiosity, and cause a great deal of waste and loss of time. Moreover it shall not be lawful for the Faithful to go to Comedies, Tragedies, Interludes, Farces, or other Stage-Plays, acted in public or private, because in all Ages these have been forbidden among Christians, as bringing in a corruption of good Manners, but then most of all when as the Sacred Scriptures come to be profaned. Yet nevertheless when as in a College it shall be found profitable for Youth to represent any History, it may be tolerated; (provided always, that the subject matter thereof be not comprised in the holy Scripture: which was never given us for matter of sport, but purely to be Preached for our Instruction and Comfort.) And this also shall be done very rarely, and with advice of the Colloquy, which shall first have the sight and perusal of the Composition.
• CAN. XXIX.
  All Plays forbidden by the Kings Edicts, as Cards, Dice, and other Games of hazard, avarice, lasciviousness, notorious loss of time, or scandal, shall be suppressed, and the Persons reproved, and admonished in the Consistories, and censured according to Circumstances. No Lotteries can be approved, although they were or were not allowed by the Civil Magistrate: and the godly Magistrates professing the Reformed Religion, are exhorted to restrain them.

  N. B. This last Clause of the Canon is only in my two Editions of Paris and Quevilly.

• CAN. XXX.
  It is a thing purely indifferent to be present at those Feasts and Banquets which are made by those of the Popish Religion, when as they are Espoused, Married, or their Children are born. However the Faithful are admonished to use them for edification, and seriously to ponder with themselves whether they be Masters of so much strength as to resist the dissolutions and other evils committed at them, and especially whether they can reprove them. And under these Feasts those are not to be comprised, which Priests make at the Celebration of their first Mass; for it is utterly unlawful for any one who fears God to countenance them with his presence.
• CAN. XXXi.
  None of the Faithful shall be present at their Marriages and Banquets, who, that they may espouse a Party of the contrary Religion, do revolt from the profession of the Gospel. But as for them, who have a long time ago Apostatized, or have been always Papists, 'tis left unto the Prudence of the Faithful to consider with themselves whether it may be expedient for them or no.
• CAN. XXXII.
  They that Challenge, or cause others to be challenged unto a Duel, or being challenged do accept of it, and kill their Parties, although they may have afterward obtained their Pardon, or may be otherwise justified, shall yet notwithstanding have the censure of Suspension from the Lord's Table, inflicted on them, and their Suspension shall be published without delay, and in case they would be received unto the Churches Peace, they shall first undergo public Penance, making acknowledgment of their great offense.
• CAN. XXXIII.
  These Articles contained in this Book of Discipline, are not established among us in such a manner, but that if the Churches benefit do require it, they may be changed: Yet shall not any Ministers, Consistories, Colloquies, or Provincial Synods have power to add, change or diminish, without the advice or consent of a National Synod.