The constitution of parliaments in England deduced from the time of King Edward the Second, illustrated by King Charles the Second in his Parliament summon'd the 18 of February 1660/1, and dissolved the 24 of January 1678/9 : with an appendix of its sessions / observed by Sr. John Pettus ... Knight.

SECT. V. Of the Arch-Bishops and Bishops.

[Obs. I] THE Title of Bishop is more ancient than the Title of Christian, as I shall shew in the seventh Chapter; how∣ever it became more general after Christia∣nity spread it self.

[ II] The word comes from the Greek, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, i. e. one who is, in Doctrinam & mores sa∣cros gregis Inspector, and when Bishops grew numerous it was thought fit to place one to look after them, and he had the addition of Archos, i. e. principalis, and so call'd Archi-Episcopus, or Arch-Bishop, ha∣ving a certain number of Bishops and their Diocesses reduced to his Province or Care, [ III] so that the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury (with his own Diocess) hath twenty two Dio∣cesses, or Bishopricks (of the twenty six) within his Province, and the Arch-Bishop of York hath with his own (four) which makes in all twenty six, (besides the Bi∣shop of Man, who hath no Writ of Sum∣mons.) Anciently these Arch-Bishops and Bishops, with Abbots, Priors, Deans, [ IV] Arch-Deacons and Proctors (making the two Convocation-houses) were summoned to appear two days before the Temporal

Lords, but since Henry the Eighth's time, (when Abbots and Priors were excluded) the Bishops are summon'd to meet the same day that the Parliament begins, but as Convocation-houses, they are not sum∣mon'd to meet at Parliament till two or three days after the Lords Spiritual and Temporal are met and sitting in Parlia∣ment, and those two Convocation-houses are seldom Adjourn'd, Prorogu'd, or Dis∣solv'd in three or four days, and sometimes longer, after the two Houses of Lords and Commons are Adjourn'd, Prorogu'd, or Dissolv'd.

[ V] These Arch-Bishops and Bishops (con∣sidering them upon a Baronial account di∣stinct from the Convocations) are entred in all Clause Rolls and Pawns next the Blood Royal (except when there was a casual in∣terposition (as this last of Vice-gerent) and their places distinctly set down, as in this Act: viz. the Arch-Bishop of Canter∣bury, then the Arch-Bishop of York, and the other according to Seniority, or An∣tientry (as the word of the Act is) till the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winche∣ster, were (as by this Act) fix'd in their Precedencies to the other twenty one, and yet there is another method of Pre∣cedencies, us'd in the Lords House, and in all Solemnities, by way of counter∣changing

of Precedencies between the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, (as will be shewn.)

[ VI] These twenty six injoy their Offices of Bishops upon a Spiritual and Ecclesiastical account, and therefore are call'd Lords Spi∣ritual, their Ecclesiastical serving in ordine ad piritualia.

[ VII] These, for many Ages did manage the Offices of Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal, also of Treasurer, President, Privy-Seal, and Secretary, (of which I shall speak more) but since Henry the Eighth's time these five Offices have been distinctly manag'd by Laicks, of the chief∣est quality and merit, and the Bishops in a manner circumscrib'd to the Jurisdiction of their respective Diocesses, which are of a kind of mixt nature, consisting of Spiri∣tualities and Temporalities.

[ VIII] In the Lords House they have almost equal Prividledges with the Lords Tempo∣ral, except in matters of Blood, when in re∣spect of their Canons, they commonly with∣draw themselves, appointing Proxies and entring Protestation, but these Priviledges are not Hereditary, (like the Temporal Lords) but meerly Successive, and their Writs are somewhat of a different Nature from those to the Lords Temporal, (in point of extent concerning the Convoca∣tion-houses)

which do make a kind of a Parliament annext to a Parliament, (of which I shall speak more at large.) But how the Bishops were Summon'd may be read in the seventh Chapter.