Synodicon in Gallia reformata, or, The acts, decisions, decrees, and canons of those famous national councils of the reformed churches in France being I. a most faithful and impartial history of the rise, growth, perfection and decay of the reformation in that kingdom, with its fatal catastrophe upon the revocation of the Edict of Nants in the year 1685 : II. the confession of faith and discipline of those churches : III. a collection of speeches, letters, sacred politicks, cases of conscience, and controversies in divinity, determined and resolved by those grave assemblies : IV. many excellent expedients for preventing and healing schisms in the churches and for re-uniting the dismembred body of divided Protestants : V. the laws, government, and maintenance of their colleges, universities and ministers, together with their exercise of discipline upon delinquent ministers and church-members : VI. a record of very many illustrious events of divine providence relating to those churches : the whole collected and composed out of original manuscript acts of those renowned synods : a work never be extant in any language.

CHAP. XI.

THE Writt having been read, the Council voted a Conference to be held about its Contents at my Lord Commissioners Lodgings, and Twelve Persons Deputies of the Council were constituted a Com∣mittee to this purpose. Who having made Reports of the whole, The Council considering the change hapned in Affairs by the unexpected and sudden Death of the Lord Maniald, and the importunities of the Lord Montmartyn his Colleague to be discharged, of such a Borden, as he saith, is impossible to be born by himself alone, and the pressing necessi∣ties of our Churches requiring that some Persons should take upon them the care and management of their Affairs, who might sollicite them with renewed vigour, but principally His Majesties Writt animated by the Exhortations of his Commissioner the Lord Gallanbd, who declared ac∣cording to that Answer made unto the Address presented by the Deputies, that the state of His Majesties Affairs would not permit His Majesty to grant us at present a General Assembly, And that in case this Council would not nominate the Deputies, his Majesty himself would do it, even as he had already took course to do it, having by his Writt and Warrant of the Thirtieth of September expresly joyned the Lord Hardy in the Commission of the General Deputies with the Lord Montmartyn. For all these reasons, and to avoid an infinite number of visible incon∣veniencies: The Council proceeded to Elect those Six Persons, which were to be presented to his Majesty, and by plurality of Suffrages were chosen the Lords Claudius Baron of Gabrias, and Beaufort, Lewes de Champagne Earl of Suze, Henry de Clermont d' Amboise Marquess of Gallerande, for the Nobility, and the Lords Basin Advocate in Parlia∣ment living at Blois Texier the Kings Advocate in the Seneschalsy of Armagnac, and Lazaras du Puy Counsellor in the Presidial Court of Bourg in Bresse for the Commons, that so his Majesty may out of them choose two, whom he best liketh, to exercise the Office of General De∣puties.

But forasmuch as that Canon established in our Churches under the good pleasure of His Majesty for the nomination of the said General Deputies, requireth that every third year by an express Warrant from his Majesty, there should be called a General Assembly, and that before it there should be particular Assemblies held in all the Provinces to pre∣pare their Cahiers, Memoirs, and all other Jurisdictions of the Provin∣ces, and to deliver them unto their hands who shall be deputed unto

the General Assembly, which after wards culleth out those Cahiers which most concern the Churches, and are to be presented unto his Majesty for the Advancement of His Service, and the Peace and Repose of His Subjects, And whereas 'tis full Six years ago since the last Politick Assembly, was graciously permitted us by His Majesty, and that the former National Synods held at Alez and Charenton, and this also of Castres conformable to them, have peremptorily decreed that none of our Pastors shall henceforward intermeddle with State-Affairs, or assist personally in Politick Assemblies, which also His Majesty hath appro∣ved, The Council, because it would not transgress His Majesties De∣clarations, nor the Canons of the Synods before-mentioned, nor cause any prejudice to that Government which the goodness of our Kings have approved in the Churches of this Realm, and which His Majesty hath given us to understand that he will not abolish, declareth that 'tis none of its design nor desire by this Election, whereunto the Churches are necessitated, and the Kings Will obligeth them to prejudice in the least the Rights and Priviledges of General Assemblies, to whom the care of State-Affairs doth properly belong, nor shall it bind the succee∣ding National Synods to act after this manner. Wherefore it chargeth the General Deputies who shall be accepted by His Majesty, to demand at the end of Eighteen Moneths with the profoundest submissions, and importunities imaginable his Majesties Writt of the Summons for the General Assembly, even as it hath pleased His Majesty to give unto our Churches the firm hopes thereof by His Royal and inviolable promises expressed in plain and formal words in his Writt before-mentioned. And whereas the intendment of this Office is in the name of our Churches, to represent unto His Majesty all those Matters, which concern the Weal and Service of His Majesty, and the Repose and Subsistance of His Subjects, and that to this purpose, it is absolutely needful that there should be Assemblies held in the Provinces, unto which there may be brought all the Complaints, Remonstrances and Propositions of all and every one of our Churches that from them they may be brought unto the General Assembly, and the whole might be there examined, and deposited into the hands of the General Deputies; and this present Council being an Assembly of another Nature, and having no Com∣mission from the Provinces, it could not furnish the Deputies now Elected with those necessary Memoirs and Instructions. They therefore who shall be retained by His Majesty to discharge and execute this Office shall most humbly petition His said Majesty that he would per∣mit in every Province such an Assembly as soon as possible, in which all Complaints and Remonstrances meet for His Majesties perusal may be collected and layd at His Majesties feet by those Lords aforesaid, our Ge∣neral Deputies, to whom they shall be sent, that so by this means His Majesty may be duely and truely informed of the Deportments and Grievances of all his Protestant Subjects, because there is not any thing of greater importance to his Weal and Service than this is. The Coun∣cil hoping much from His Majesties great goodness, is emboldned to pass beyond its accustomed Bounds and Order, and to dispense with it self in this particular. Otherwise it would have persisted in its most humble supplications, that it might not be obliged unto the said Election.

The said Lords General Deputies shall confer with the Ministers of State, (it being a thing of indispensable necessity) how they may hold a correspondency with the Provinces, and the Provinces with them; because without such a correspondency all their actings, yea, and their Office it self would be utterly useless and unserviceable unto the Chur∣ches.

Every Province shall draw up a Cahier of the grievances of their Churches, and of particular Persons professing our Religion, which shall be transmitted unto the Church of Paris, which shall compile them into one general Cahier, to be deposited into the hands of the Gene∣ral Deputies.