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. XV. Observations on Reading the Church-Discipline.

1. THE Provinces of Anjou, Xaintonge, and Lower Guyenne, request∣ing that the 4th Article of the 1st Chapter might be explained; This Assembly decreed, that the said Article should be thus expressed: 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 Con∣sistory of that Place) shall not be admitted into this Holy Office, &c So that those Lines from the Verb are unto the Adjective national, must be taken

away. And Consistories are required not to forsake the wonted Order, particularly that of calling in divers Pastors from one and the same Church, to ordain their Ministers, unless they should be enforced by an extream Necessity to do otherwise: of which, as of all other extraor∣dinary Occurrences, they shall render an Account unto the Provincial, and the Provincial unto the National Synods. And as to what hath been done in the Province of Anjou, this Assembly doth confirm it, without allowing of it as a Precedent for the future.

2. In case of Difficulties that a Church be constrained to have Recourse unto an University or Neighbour Province, to be provided of a Pastor, it shall not for the future serve it self of this Expedient, nor may the Neighbour-Province or University grant that Church its Demand, unless there be an unanimous Consent of all the Churches of the same Colloquy, which they shall notify by their Letters, approving the Choice of the elected Pastor.

3. On the 33d Article of the 1st Chapter, and 8th Observation of the National Synod of Rochel (the 18th in order, held in the Year 1607.) on the Discipline, by which at the Request of the Province of Dolphiny, the said Article had been explained: The Assembly gave leave unto Pro∣vincial Synods to extend the Loan of Pastors unto the term of a full Year, notwithstanding the Churches from whence those Pastors were borrowed, had entred their Appeal against it.

4. Upon the 4th Article of the 2d Chapter, the Province of Poictou was advised to observe that Canon framed by the 24th National Synod, held at Charenton in the Year 1623, which had ordained, That the Chil∣dren of Ministers should not he preferred (unto the Pensions) unless cae∣terus paribus, they were equal in Merits with the other Competitors.

5. After those Words in the 8th Article of the 5th Chapter (As also all Sentences of Suspension) those shall be added, which were given by the Consistory, and were not declared before the Congregation, shall be binding, although the suspended Person had made his Appeal either to a Colloquy or Provincial Synod.

6. In Obedience to those Remonstrances made by his Lordship the Lord Commissioner, the Provinces are exhorted to come prepared to the next National Synod, in which it will be debated, whether any thing shall be changed in the 19th and 20th Articles of the 5th Chapter before mentioned.

7. The Word Gypsys (the French call them Bohemians) shall be razed out of the eleventh Chapter, because the two others do sufficiently ex∣plain it.

8. Those Words (as also the Names of Office, such as Baptist, Angel, Apostle) shall be struck out of the 4th Article of the fore-mentioned 11th Chapter, as being useless, and now not practised in the Churches.

9. The Deputies of Xaintonge upon that same Article, reporting that divers Persons, according to the Custom of the Country, did give Names unto Children in Baptism, which occasioned ridiculous Raillery and foolish Jesting, and that it would be needful to redress it: The Synod gave Liberty unto that Province to use such Means as they judged best and most expedient to effect it.

10. The Lord Commissioner remonstrated on the 18th Article of the same 11th Chapter, that the Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Inter∣ments of the Members of all the Churches should be yearly brought into those Courts of Judicature, whereunto our respective Churches do be∣long: The Synod unanimously concurred with his Lordship, and injoined all the Provinces to see that it be accordingly observed and performed.

11. Upon the Remonstrance of the Lord Commissioner, instead of those Words at the close of the first Article of the 13th Chapter, Shall give such Advice unto the Parties as may be convenient, there shall be in∣serted (according to the Intentions of the Synod of Vertueil, in the Year 1567, and of Montauban in the Year 1594) these Words, The Consistory shall advise the Parties to apply themselves unto the Civil Magistrate.

12. These Words (Nevertheless, the Parties shall be exhorted not to de∣part from the Words and Promises de futuro, without great and lawful Cau∣ses) shall be inserted into the fifth Article of the same 13th Chapter, and the Clause beginning thus (All Promises) shall be razed.

13. At the Request of the Lord Commissioner, this Clause was added to the end of the 13th Article of the 13th Chapter, Ʋnless that such a Marriage were authorized by the Civil Magistrate.

14. Upon the Remonstrance of the Province of Xaintonge, the Synod decreed, That such as in conformity to the 18th Article of the same 13th Chapter, did cause their Banes to be published in the Temples of the Po∣pish Religion, should carry a Certificate of their being of the Reformed Religion, unto that Church which was nearest the Place of their Abode, and where their Banes also shall be proclaimed; that so all Surprizals may be prevented.

15. These following Words shall close up the 22d Article of the same 13th Chapter, Ʋnless the Magistrate hath interposed with his Judicial Sen∣tence to the contrary.

16. Upon the 2d and 11th Articles of the 14th Chapter, the Synod approved of that Sentence given by the Provincial Synod of Xaintonge, which judged that the Faithful ought not to desire their Parties of the contrary Religion to swear by the Te igitur and Cross.

17. The Assembly not being able to add or change any thing in the 4th Article of the 14th Chapter, giveth Licence unto the Province of Normandy to establish for its own particular Service such Orders as it shall judg most fitting for the Edification of the Churches in their Division.

18. The Lord Commissioner requiring, that for the future no Book might be published till it had been first examined by Divines appointed unto that very purpose; this Assembly did thereupon ordain, That the 16th Article of the said 14th Chapter of the Discipline, shall be couched in these Terms; Ministers, nor any other Members of these our Reformed Churches, may not cause any Books concerning Religion, which are either made by themselves or any others, to be printed or published, till such time as they have first communicated the Manuscript Copy unto the Colloquy, or, if Occasion so require, unto the Provincial Synod; and in case the Matter be urgent, un∣to the Ʋniversities, or unto two Pastors nominated by the Synod, who shall give an Attestation under their own Hands, that they have examined the said Ma∣nuscript.

19. The Lord Commissioner acquainted the Synod, that his Majesty had sent him divers Books and Treatises on several Subjects, fraught with injurious and intolerable Expressions, and therefore required that they should be censured according to their Deserts. Whereupon, the Synod requested the said Lord Commissioner, that those Books might not be at all look'd into, because they were printed many Years ago, and the great∣er part of them, when their Authors were enforced to it by the bitter Provocations of others professing a contrary Religion. And the Synod having, together with his Lordship, took all possible care in the forego∣ing Canons to prevent the printing of all offensive Books for the future, the Provinces shall use all possible Care and Circumspection, that his Ma∣jesty should not have any the least occasion to complain of us. With which Answer his Lordship remained satisfied, and judged it not meet

that any particular Censure should be applied unto those Books, as he had at first demanded.

20. The whole Book of Church-Discipline having been read over, the Deputies of the Provinces did, in their own Names, and in theirs who had commissionated them, sign it, promising solemnly that they would observe it, and see it exactly observed by their respective Provinces.