A simple, and religious consultation of vs Herman by the grace of God Archebishop of Colone, and prince Electour. [et] c. by what meanes a Christian reformation, and founded in Gods worde, of doctrine, administration of the deuine sacramentes, of ceremonies, and the hole cure of soules, and other ecclesiastical ministeries may be begon among men committed to our pastorall charge, vntil the Lorde graunt a better to be appoynted either by a free, and Christian cou[n]sayle, general, or national, or elles by the states of the empire of the natio[n] of Germanie, gathered together in the holye Gost

❧ Here it shall suffice, that euerie one answere thus for hym selfe.

I beleue, and confesse the same, and yelde vp my selfe to Christe, and his cōgregation, trusting in the grace and healpe of our Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ. But where chyl∣dren be not so exercised in the knowledge of religion, that they can answere by herte ac∣cording to the prescribed fourme, the visiter, whiche shal administer confirmation, muste reade al the answers to suche children, and it shalbe sufficient, if they answere simply, that they beleue the thinges, that were read, how be it he shall labour so to declare all thinges vnto them, that they may vnderstande what thei go about, and what thei cōfesse, and pro¦fesse. Howbeit they must be diligently war∣ned, that they remēbre, that they stand in the sight of god, whō they cā not deceyue, which beholdeth the herte. And that therefore they must procure with al reuerēce, that they de∣clare the same thinge in their lyfe, that they professe wyth their mouth, and thynke in their herte.

But, as we warned before, al the chyldrē one by one muste be exercised, and prepared hereunto, and diligētly examined the wieke before, by the ministers and Elders of eue∣rie

congregation, and the pastours and El∣ders must bring no childrē before the visiter to be cōfirmed, but such as they trust, know the summe of religion, and beleue truely in Christe. It is not to be required precisely, that the childrē answer featly cōcerning the wordes, for it chaūceth oftē, that they which be wel enstructed in the knowledge of faith can not verie handsomely vtter the thynges that they meane, chiefly in an open place, ei∣ther for shame or some other weaknesse of minde. Wherefore we muste more regarde, which childrē truly vnderstāde the thynges that perteine to religion, then which cā feat∣ly declare them with wordes, wherein those excell moore often, whiche haue lesse godlie myndes. Nowe further, when the children, which shalbe confirmed, haue confessed their fayth, and professed the obediēce of the Go∣spell, the cōgregation muste be warned, that they humbly pray for these chyldrē. Whose prayer the pastoure shall offre to the Lorde, wyth suche a collecte.