Works

Imprimis, the Superintendent of Orknay: whose Diocesye shalbe to the Ylis of Orknay, Sheitland, Caithnes,¹ and Straythnaver. His residence to be in the Toun of Kirkwall.

2. The Superintendent of Ross; whose Diocesye shall comprehend Ross, Suthirland, Murray, with the North Ylis of the Sky, and the Lewis, with thair adjacentis. His residence to be in Channonrie of Ross.

3. The Superintendent of Ergile; whose Diocesye shall comprehend Argile, [Kyntyre,] Lorne, the South Ylis, Arrane [and] Bute, with thair adjacents, with Lochquhaber. His residence to be in [Argyle.]

4. The Superintendent of Abirdene; whose Diocesye is betwix Dee and Spay, conteanand the schirefdome of Abirdene and Bamff. His residence to be in Auld Abirdene.

5. The Superintendent of Brechin; whose Diocesye shalbe the hole schirefdomes of Mearnis and Anguss, and the Bray of Mar to Dee. His residence to be in Brechin.

6. The Superintendent of Sanctandrois; whose Diocesye shall comprehend the hoill schirefdome of Fyffe² and Fotheringhame, to Striveling; and the hoill schirefdome of Perth. His residence to be in Sanctandrois.

7. The Superintendent of Edinburght; whose Diocesye shall comprehend the hoill schirefdomes of Lowthiane, and Striveling on the south syde of the Watter of Forth;³ and thairto is added, by consent of the hoill Churche, Mersse, Lauderdaill, and Weddell. His residence to be in [Edinburgh.]

8. The Superintendent of Jedburgh; whose Diocesye shall comprehend Thevedaill, Tweddell, Liddisdaill,⁴ with the Forrest of Ethrick. His residence to be [Jedburgh.]

9. The Superintendent of Glasgow; whose Diocesye shall comprehend Cliddisdale, Renfrew, Menteith, Levinax, Kyle, and Cunynghame. His residence to be in Glasgow.

10. The Superintendent of Dumfriese; whose Diocesye sall comprehend Galloway, Carrik, Niddisdaill, Annanderdaill, with the rest of the Daillis in the West. His residence to be in Drumfreise.

Those men must not be sufferred to leave as your idill Bischopis have done heirtofore; neather most thei remane whaire gladlie thei wald: But thei must be preachearis thame selves, and suche as may mak no long residence in ony one place, till thair Churches be⁵ planted and provided of Ministers, or at the leist of Reidaris.

Charge must be gevin to thame that thei remane in no one place above twenty or threttye⁶ dayis in thair visitatioun, till thei have passed throucht thair hoill boundis. Thei must thryise everie weake at the least preache; and when thei returne to thair principall town and residence, thei must be likewise exercisit in preacheing and in edificatioun of the Churche thaire; and yet thei must not be suffered to continew thair so long, as thei may seame to neglect thaire uthir Churches: but efter that thei have remaned in thair cheif toun thre or four monethis at most, thei shall be compelled (onles be seiknes onlie thei be reteaned,) to re-enter in visitatioun, in which thei shall not onlie preache, but also examyn the life, diligence, and behaviour of the Ministeris; as also the ordour of thaire Churches, [and] the maneris of the people. Thei must farther consider how the poore be provided: how the youth be instructed: thei must admonische whaire admonitioun neidith, dresse suche thingis as by goode counsall thei be able to appease: and, finalie, thei must note suche crymes as be haynouse, that by the censure of the Church the same may be corrected.

Yf the Superintendent be fund negligent in any of these cheaf pointis of his office, and especiallie yf he be noted negligent in preacheing of the word, and in visitatioun of his Churches; or yf he be convict of ony of those crymis, which in the common Ministeris ar dampned, he must be deposit, without respect of his persoun or office.

In this present necessitie, the nominatioun, examinatioun, and admissioun of Superintendentis, can not be so strait as we require, and as afterward it must be.

For this present, thairfore, we think sufficient that eather your Honouris, by your selves, nominat sa mony as may serve the fore-written provincis; or that ye gyff commissioun to suche men, as in whome ye suppoise the feir of God [to be] to do the same; and that the same men being called in your presence shalbe by you, and by suche as your Honouris please call unto you for consultatioun in that case, appointed to thair provinces. We think it expedient and necessarie, that als weill the gentilmen, as burgesses of everie diocese, be maid privie at the same tyme to the electioun of the Superintendent, alsweill to bring the Churche in sum practise of hir libertie, as to mak the pastor better favorit of the flocke whome thame selves have chosin. Yff your Honouris can not find for this present sa many able men as the necessitie requireth, then, in our judgementis, more profitable it is that those provincis vaik till God provide better, than that men unabill to edifie and governe the Churche be suddanlie placit in that charge. For experience hath taught us,⁷ what pestilence hath bene engendred in the Church by men unabill to discharge thair offices.

When, thairfore, after thre yeiris any Superintendent shall departe, or chance to be deposed, the cheaf town within that province, to wit, the Ministeris, Elders, and Deaconis, with the Magistrat and Counsall of the same town, shall nominat, and by publict edictis proclame, alsweill to the Superintendent, as to twa or thre provinces nixt adjacent, two or thre of the most learned and most godlie Ministeris within the hole realme, that frome amangis thame, one with publict consent may be electit and appointed to the office then vaiking: and this the cheaf Town shall be bound to do within the terme of twenty dayis. Whiche being expired and no man presented, then shall thre of the nixt adjacent provincis, with consent of thair Superintendentis, Ministeris, and Elderis, enter in into the rycht and priviledgeis of the cheaf town, and shall present everie one of thame one, or two yf thei list, to the cheaf town, to be examinated as the Ordour requireth. As also, it shalbe lauchfull for all the churches of the Diocesye to nominat within the same tyme suche personis as thei think worthye to stand in electioun; which man be put in edict.⁸

After the nominationis be maid, publict edictis must be send, first warnyng all men that have any objectioun⁹ againis the personis nominatit, or against ony ane of thame, to be present in the cheaf toun at day and place affixit, to object what thei can against the electioun of any one of thame. Threttye dayis we think sufficient to be assigned thairto; thretty dayis, we meane, after that the nominatioun be maid.

Whiche day of electioun being come, the hoill Ministeris of that Province, with thre or mo¹⁰ of the Superintendentis nixt adjacent, or that sall thairto be named,¹¹ shall examyn not onlie the learnying, but also the maneris, prudence, and habilitie to governe the Churche, of all those that ar nominat; that he who shallbe fund most worthye, may be burdened with the charge. Yff the Ministeris of the whole Province should bring with them the voitis of those that war committit to thair caire, the electioun should be the more fre; bot alwayis, the voitis of all those that convene must be requirit.¹² The examinationis must be publictlie maid; those that stand in electioun must publictlie preache; and men must be chargeit in the name of God, to voit according to conscience, and not efter affectioun. Yf ony thing be objectit against any that stand¹³ in electioun, the Superintendentis and Ministeris must considder whether the objectioun be maid of conscience or of malice, and thei must ansueir accordinglie. Other ceremonies then scharp examinatioun, approbatioun of the Ministeris and Superintendentis, with the publict consent of the Elderis and People, then present,¹⁴ we can not allow.

The Superintendent being electit, and appointed to his charge, must be subjected to the censur and correctioun of the Ministeris and Elderis, not onlie of his cheaf Toun, but also of the hoill Province over the whiche he is appointed oversear.

Yf his offencis¹⁵ be knawin, and the Ministeris and Elderis of his Province¹⁶ be negligent in correcting him, then the nixt one or two Superintendentis, with thair Ministeris and Elderis, may convene him, and the Ministeris and Elderis of his cheaf toun, (provideit that it be within his awin Province or cheaf toun,) and may accuse and correct alsweale the Superintendent in those thingis that ar worthy of correctioun, as the Ministeris and Elderis for thair negligence and ungodlie tollerance of his offencis.

Whatsoever cryme deserve correctioun or depositioun of any other minister, deserveth the samin in the Superintendent, without exceptioun of persoun.

After that the Churche he establischeit,¹⁷ and thre yeiris be passed, we require that na man be callit to the office of a Superintendent, who hath not tuo yeiris at the leist gevin declaratioun of his faithfull lawbouris in the ministerie of some churche.¹⁸

No Superintendent may be transferrit at the plesour or requeist of ony one Province; no, not without the consent of the whole counsall of the Churche, and that for grave causses and considderationis.

Off one thing, in the end, we must admonische your Honouris, to wit, that in appointing Superintendentis for this present, ye disappoint not your cheaf Tounis, and whair learning is exercised, of suche ministeris as more may proffit be residence in one place, than be continewall travell frome place to place: For if ye so do, the youth in those placis shall lacke the profound interpretatioun of the Scripturis; and so shall it be long before that your gardenis send furth many plantis; whair by the contrarie, yf one or tuo tounis be continewallie exercised as thei may, the Commoun-wealth shall schortlie taist of thair fruct,¹⁹ to the confort of the godlie.

Seeing that the office and dewtie of the godlie Magistrat is nocht onlie to purge the Churche of God from all superstitioun, and to set it at libertie from bondage of tyrranis;²⁰ but also to provide, to the uttermost of his power, how it may abide in the same puritie to the posteriteis²¹ following; we can not but frelie²² communicat our judgementis with your Honouris in this behalf.

Seing that God hath determined that his Churche heir in earth, shallbe tawght not be angellis but by men; and seing that men ar born ignorant of all godlynes; and seing, also, now God ceassith²³ to illuminat men miraculuslie, suddanlie changeing thame, as that he did his Apostlis and utheris in the Primitive Churche: off necessitie it is that your Honouris be most cairfull for the virtuous educatioun, and godlie upbringing of the youth of this Realme, yf eathir ye now thirst unfeanedlie [for] the advancement of Christis glorie, or yit desire the continewance of his benefits to the generatioun following. For as the youth must succeed till us, so aucht we to be cairfull that thei have the knawlege and eruditioun, to proffit and confort that whiche aucht to be most deare to us, to wit, the Churche and Spouse of the Lord Jesus.

Off necessitie thairfore we judge it, that everie severall Churche have a Scholmaister²⁴ appointed, suche a one as is able, at least, to teache Grammer and the Latine toung, yf the Toun be of any reputatioun. Yf it be Upaland, whaire the people convene to doctrine bot once in the weeke, then must eathir the Reidar or the Minister thair appointed, take cayre over the children and youth of the parische, to instruct them in thair first rudimentis, and especiallie in the Catechisme,²⁵ as we have it now translaited in the Booke of our Common Ordour, callit the Ordour of Geneva.²⁶ And farther, we think it expedient, that in everie notable toun, and especiallie in the toun of the Superintendent, [there] be erected a Colledge, in whiche the Artis, at least Logick and Rethorick, togidder with the Tongues, be read be sufficient Maisteris, for whome honest stipendis must be appointed: as also provisioun for those that be poore, and be nocht able by them selfis, nor by thair freindis, to be sustened at letteris, especiallie suche as come frome Landwart.

The frute and commoditie heirof shall suddanlie appeare. For, first, the youtheid and tender children sall be nurischit and brocht up in virtue, in presence of thair freindis; by whose good attendence many inconvenientis may be avoided, in the which the youth commonlie fallis, eathir by too muche²⁷ libertie, whiche thei have in strange and unknawin placis, whill thei can not rule them selfis; or ellis for lacke of gude attendence, and of suche necessiteis as thair tender aige requireth. Secoundarlie, The exercise of the children in everie Churche shall be great instructioun to the aigeit.²⁸

Last, The great Schollis callit Universiteis, shallbe repleanischit with those that be apt to learnyng; for this must be cairfullie provideit, that no fader, of what estait or conditioun that ever he be, use his children at his awin fantasie, especiallie in thair youth-heade; but all must be compelled to bring up thair children in learnyng and virtue.

The riche and potent may not be permitted to suffer thair children to spend thair youth in vane idilnes, as heirtofore thei have done. But thei must be exhorted, and by the censure of the Churche compelled to dedicat thair sones, by goode exercise,²⁹ to the proffit of the Churche and to the Common-wealth; and that thei must do of thair awin expensses, becaus thei ar able. The children of the poore must be supported and sustenit on the charge of the Churche, till tryell be tackin, whethir the spirit of docilitie be fund in them or not. Yf thei be fund apt to letteris and learnyng, then may thei not (we meane, neathir the sonis of the riche, nor yit the sonis of the poore,) be permittit to reject learnyng; but must be chargeit to continew thair studie, sa that the Commoun-wealthe may have some confort by them. And for this purpose must discreit, learned, and grave men be appointit to visit all Schollis for the tryell of thair exercise, proffit, and continewance; to wit, the Ministeris and Elderis, with the best learned in everie toun, shall everie quarter tak examinatioun³⁰ how the youth hath proffitted.

A certane tyme must be appointed to Reiding, and to learning of the Catechisme; ane certane tyme to the Grammar, and to the Latine toung; ane certane tyme to the Artis, Philosophie, and to the [other] Toungis; and a certane to that studie in which thei intend cheaflie to travell for the proffit of the Commoun-wealth. Whiche tyme being expired, we meane in everie course, the children must eathir proceid to farther knawledge, or ellis thei must be send to sum handie-craft, or to sum othir profitable exercise; provideit alwayis, that first thei have the forme of knawledge³¹ of Christiane religioun, to wit, the knawledge of Goddis law and commandimentis; the use and office of the same; the cheaf articulis of our beleve; the richt forme to pray unto God; the nomber, use, and effect of the sacramentis; the trew knawledge of Christ Jesus, of his office and natures, and suche otheris,³² as without the knawledge wheirof, neathir deservith [any] man to be named a Christiane,³³ neather aught ony to be admittit to the participatioun of the Lordis Tabill: And thairfore, these principallis aught and must be learned in the youth-heid.