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. XVIII. The Reply made by the Deputies of Bearn, unto this Opposition of the Lord Commissioner.

3. BUT the Deputies of the Province of Bearn return'd this Answer;

That the Union of the Churches with those of this Kingdom, in respect of Doctrine and Discipline, was not only granted to them by his Majesty's Goodness, but also by his own express Consent, done and executed with his actual Approbation. For although by the Answers set in the Margin of the Cahiers, in the Years 1602, 1604, and 1611, his Majesty hath thought good to suspend and put off the filing of it, till after the uniting and incorporating of Bearn with the Crown of France; yet nevertheless, through the most humble Petitions of his Subjects, his Majesty anticipated this Matter, and granted that for Doctrine, Con∣fession of Faith, and Church-Discipline, they should be joined and uni∣ted with the Reformed Churches of this Kingdom; yea, and his Ma∣jesty permitted them to send their Deputies unto those Ecclesiastical As∣semblies convocated in it according to his Edicts: And this is undenia∣bly proved by that Answer given unto the Cahier, at the Intercession of the Assembly of Loudun, and pursuant to that Grant the said Province hath from time to time sent their Deputies unto the National Synods, and particularly to that of Tonneins, Vitré, Alez, the first of Charen∣ton, Castres, and unto this present Synod, who had priviledg of sitting and voting in them, and were therein supported even by his Lordship the Commissioner. And in execution of the said Union, their Remon∣strances concerning the well-being of their Churches were presented un∣to his Majesty by the General-Deputies, inserted by them into their Cahiers, jointly with the Demands and Petitions of the Churches of this Kingdom, and through the Clemency of his Majesty received a gracious Answer. As for Instance, Those relating to the Restoration of the Pastors Wages, and the Maintenance of the Colledg of Ortez, which will be justified by the Cahier presented in the Year 1625, after that Bearn was united with France, yea, and after his Majesty's Jour∣ney into that Country; from which it will be manifested that his Ma∣jesty was pleased with, and granted that we should be united, and he favoured, in the execution of it, his poor Subjects inhabiting the said Pro∣vince with his Royal Promises. Nor should the incorporating of our Churches with those of this Kingdom, be envied to us, nor be repu∣ted a general or particular Grievance; for the Censures which some private Persons may deserve, will be issued forth against them by the Consistories and Colloquies; and in Cases of Appeal, they will be con∣firmed and executed in the Province by the Sentence of the Provincial Synods only: And as for our Pastors, their Appeals cannot be received out of the Province but in some particular Case, as of Suspension and Deposition from the Ministry, and their removal from one Church un∣to another, or from one Colloquy unto another. In which case 'tis but just and reasonable that they be subjected to, and judged by the Synod of that whole Nation, into which Bearn is now incorporated by his Maje∣sty's Edict; and that the Ministers residing in it, should be governed in

the same manner as those of France. And therefore the said Union having been promised by his Majesty, approved by his Grants, and exe∣cuted in the Presence of his Commissioners, as not derogating in the least from his Authority, nor to the Publick Weal, it could not but be re∣puted sufficiently authorized; and therefore we do once again most hum∣bly petition his Majesty that he would be pleased to allow of it: and this National Synod is most importunately desired to espouse and up∣hold it, and the rather, because that the Province of Bearn and their Churches do submit themselves to the Discipline of the Churches of this Kingdom, acknowledging that it doth most intirely accord and agred with theirs, and that both of them are extracted out of God's Holy Word. But whatever the Result and Issue of this Affair may be, they resolved to make a faithful Report of the whole unto their Province, as well for their own Discharge as for the great Importance of the matter.