Religiöse Friedenswahrung und Friedensstiftung in Europa (1500-1800): Digitale Quellenedition frühneuzeitlicher Religionsfrieden
edition published: 2013
language: eng
availability: This file is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons License CC-BY 4.0 (Attribution 4.0 International) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Anno Regni Gulielmi et Mariae, regis & reginae Angliae, Scotiae, Franciae & Hiberniae, primo. On the Twenty fourth day of May, Anno Domini 1689. In the First Year of Their Majesties Reign this Act Passed the Royal Assent. London, Printed by Charles Bill and Thomas Newcomb, Printers to the King and Queen`s most Excellent Majesties, 1689.

Anno Primo Gulielmi & Mariae. An Act for Exempting Their Majesties Protestant Subjects Dissenting from the Church of England from the Penalties of certain Laws.

Forasmuch as some Ease to Scrupulous Consciences in the Exercise of Religion may be an effectual means to Unite Their Majesties Pro testant Subjects in Interest and Affection, Be it Enacted by the King and Queens most Excellent Majesties, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal, and the Com mons, in this present Parliament As sembled and by the Authority of the same; That neither the Statute made in the Three and twentieth Year of [Korrigiert aus: cf.] the Reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, In tituled, An Act to Retain the Queens Maje sties Subjects in their Due Obedience; Nor the Statute made in the Twenty ninth Year of the said Queen, Intituled, An Act for the more Speedy and Due Execution of certain Branches of the Statute made in the Three and twentieth Year of the Queens Majesties Reign, Videlicet The aforesaid Act; nor that Branch or Clause of a Statute made in the First Year of the Reign of the said Queen, Intituled, An Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayer and Service in the Church, and Administration of the Sa craments; whereby all Persons, having no Lawful or Reasonable Excuse to be Absent, are required to Resort to their Parish Church or Chappel, or some usual Place where the Common Prayer shall be used, upon pain of Punishment by the Censures of the Church, and also upon pain that every Person so Offending shall forfeit for every such Offence Twelve pence; Nor the Statute made in the Third Year of the Reign of the late King James the First, Intituled, An Act for the better Discovering and Repressing Popish Recusants; Nor that other Sta tute made in the same Year, Intituled, An Act to Prevent and Avoid Dangers which may grow by Popish Recusants; Nor any other Law or Statute of this Realm made against Papists or Popish Recu sants, Except the Statute made in the Five and twentieth Year of King Charles the Second, Intituled, An Act for Pre venting Dangers which may happen from Po pish Recusants; And Except also the Sta tute made in the Thirtieth Year of the said King Charles the Second, Intitu led, An Act for the more Effectual Preserving the Kings Person and Government, by Disa bling Papists from Sitting in either House of Parliament; Shall be Construed to Extend to any Person or Persons Dis senting from the Church of England, that shall take the Oaths mentioned in a Statute made this present Parlia ment, Intituled, An Act for Removing and Preventing all Questions and Disputes Concerning the Assembling and Sitting of this present Parliament; And shall Make and Subscribe the Declaration menti oned in a Statute made in the Thir tieth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, Intituled, An Act to Pre vent Papists from Sitting in either House of Parliament; Which Oaths and Declara tion the Justices of Peace at the Ge neral Sessions of the Peace, to be held for the County or Place where such Per son shall live, are hereby Required to Tender and Administer to such Persons as shall offer themselves to Take, Make, and Subscribe the same, and thereof to keep a Register; And like wise none of the Persons aforesaid shall give or pay, as any Fee or Reward, to any Officer or Officers belonging to the Court aforesaid, above the Sum of Six pence, nor that more than [Korrigiert aus: then.] once, for his or their Entry of his taking the said Oaths, and Making and Subscribing the said Declaration; Nor above the fur ther Sum of Six pence for any Certifi cate of the same, to be made out and Signed by the Officer or Officers of the said Court.

And be it further Enacted by the Au thority aforesaid, That all and every Person and Persons, already Convicted or Prosecuted in order to Conviction of Re cusancy, by Indictment, Information, Action of Debt, or otherwise, grounded upon the aforesaid Statutes, or any of them, that shall take the said Oaths mentioned in the said Statute made this present Parliament, and Make and Subscribe the Declaration aforesaid, in the Court of Exchequer, or Assizes, or General or Quarter Sessions to be held for the County where such Person lives, and to be thence respectively Certified into the Exchequer, shall be thenceforth Exempted and Discharged from all the Penalties, Seizures, Forfei tures, Judgments, and Executions, In curred by Force of any the aforesaid Sta tutes, without any Composition, Fee, or further Charge whatsoever.

And be it further Enacted by the Au thority aforesaid, That all and every person and persons that shall, as aforesaid, take the said Oaths, and Make and Subscribe the Declaration aforesaid, shall not be liable to any Pains, Penal ties, or Forfeitures, mentioned in an Act made in the Five and thirtieth Year of the Reign of the Late Queen Elizabeth, Intituled, An Act to Retain the Queen`s Ma jesties Subjects in their due Obedience; Nor in an Act made in the Two and twenti eth Year of the Reign of the late King Charles the Second, Intituled, An Act to Prevent and Suppress Seditious Conventicles; Nor shall any of the said Persons be Pro secuted in any Ecclesiastical Court, for or by reason of their Nonconforming to the Church of England.

Provided always, and be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Assembly of persons Dissenting from the Church of England shall be had in any place for Religious Worship with the Doors Locked, Barred, or Bolted, during any time of such Meeting together, all and every person or persons, that shall come to and be at such Meeting, shall not receive any benefit from this Law, but be liable to all the Pains and Penal ties of all the aforesaid Laws recited in this Act, for such their Meeting, not withstanding his taking the Oaths, and his Making and Subscribing the Decla ration aforesaid.

Provided always, That nothing here in contained shall be Construed to Ex empt any of the persons aforesaid from paying of Tythes or other Parochial Duties, or any other Duties to the Church or Minister, nor from any Pro secution in any Ecclesiastical Court or elsewhere, for the same.

And be it further Enacted by the Au thority aforesaid, That if any person Dissenting from the Church of England, as aforesaid, shall hereafter be Chosen or otherwise Appointed to bear the Office of High Constable, or Petty Constable, Church Warden, Overseer of the Poor, or any other Parochial or Ward Office, and such person shall Scruple to take upon him any of the said Offices in re gard of the Oaths, or any other Mat ter or Thing required by the Law to be taken or done in respect of such Office, Every such person shall and may execute such Office or Employment by a suffici ent Deputy, by him to be provided, that shall Comply with the Laws on this behalf.

Provided always, the said Deputy be Allowed and Approved by such person or persons, in such manner as such Of ficer or Officers respectively should by Law have been Allowed and Appro ved.

And be it further Enacted by the Au thority aforesaid, That no person Dis senting from the Church of England in Holy Orders, or pretended Holy Orders, or pretending to Holy Orders, nor any Preacher or Teacher of any Congregati on of Dissenting Protestants, that shall Make and Subscribe the Declaration aforesaid, and take the said Oaths at the General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be held for the County, Town, Parts, or Division where such person lives, which Court is hereby impowered to Administer the same, and shall also Declare his Approbation of and Sub scribe the Articles of Religion mention ed in the Statute made in the Thir teenth Year of the Reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, Except the Thirty fourth, Thirty fifth, and Thirty sixth, and these words of the Twentieth Ar ticle, Videlicet [The Church hath power to De cree Rights or Ceremonies, and Authority in Controversies of Faith, And yet], shall be li able to any of the Pains or Penalties mentioned in an Act made in the Seven teenth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, Intituled, An Act for Re straining Non-Conformists from Inhabiting in Corporations; Nor the Penalties mention ed in the aforesaid Act made in the Two and twentieth Year of his said late Ma jesties Reign, for or by reason of such per sons Preaching at any Meeting for the Exercise of Religion; Nor to the Penal ty of One hundred pounds mentioned in an Act made in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth of King Charles the Second, Intituled, An Act for the Uniformity of Publick Prayers, and Administration of Sacra ments, and other Rites and Ceremonies: And for Establishing the Form of Making, Ordain ing, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons in the Church of England, for Offi ciating in any Congregation for the Ex ercise of Religion permitted and allowed by this Act.

Provided always, That the Making and Subscribing the said Declaration, and the Taking the said Oaths, and Making the Declaration of Approbati on and Subscription to the said Articles, in manner as aforesaid, by every respe ctive person or persons herein before men tioned, at such General or Quarter Ses sions of the Peace as aforesaid, shall be then and there Entred of Record in the said Court, for which Six pence shall be paid to the Clerk of the Peace, and no more.

Provided that such Person shall not at any time Preach in any Place, but with the Doors not Locked, Barred, or Bolted, as aforesaid.

And Whereas some Dissenting Prote stants Scruple the Baptizing of In fants; Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person in pre tended Holy Orders, or Pretending to Holy Orders, or Preacher, or Teacher, that shall Subscribe the aforesaid Arti cles of Religion, Except before Excepted, and also Except part of the Seven and twentieth Article touching Infant Baptism, and shall take the said Oaths, and Make & Subscribe the Declaration aforesaid, in manner aforesaid, every such Person shall enjoy all the Priviledges, Benefits, and Advantages, which any other Dissenting Minister, as aforesaid, might have or en joy by vertue of this Act.

And be it further Enacted by the Au thority aforesaid, That Every Teacher or Preacher in Holy Orders, or pretended Holy Orders, that is a Minister, Preach er, or Teacher of a Congregation, that shall take the Oaths herein Required, and Make and Subscribe the Declarati on aforesaid, And also Subscribe such of the aforesaid Articles of the Church of England, as are Required by this Act in manner aforesaid, shall be thenceforth

Exempted from serving upon any Jury, or from being Chosen or Appointed to bear the Office of Church Warden, Over seer of the Poor, or any other Parochial or Ward Office, or other Office in any Hundred of any Shire, City, Town, Pa rish, Division, or Wapentake.

And be it further Enacted by the Au thority aforesaid, That every Justice of the Peace may at any time hereafter Require any Person, that goes to any Meeting for Exercise of Religion, to Make and Subscribe the Declaration aforesaid, and also to take the said Oaths or Declaration of Fidelity herein after mentioned, in Case such Person scruples the taking of an Oath, and upon refusal thereof, such Justice of the Peace is here by Required to Commit such Person to Prison without Bail or Mainprize, and to Certifie the Name of such Person to the next General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be held for that County, Ci ty, Town, Part, or Division, where such Person then Resides; and if such Person so Committed shall upon a second tender at the General or Quarter Sessions re fuse to Make and Subscribe the Decla ration aforesaid, such Persons refusing shall be then and there Recorded, and he shall be taken thenceforth to all Intents and Purposes for a Popish Recusant Convict, and suffer accordingly, and in cur all the Penalties and Forfeitures of all the aforesaid Laws.

And whereas there are certain other persons, Dissenters from the Church of England, who Scruple the taking of any Oath; Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every such person shall Make and Subscribe the aforesaid Decla ration, and also this Declaration of Fi delity following, Videlicet:

I A. B. Do sincerely Promise and Solemnly Declare before God and the World, that I will be True and Faith ful to King William and Queen Mary; And I do Solemnly Profess and Declare, that I do from my Heart Abhor, Detest, and Renounce, as Impious and Heretical, that damnable Doctrine and Position, That Princes Excommunicated or De prived by the Pope, or any Authority of the See of Rome, may be Deposed or Murthered by Their Subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do Declare, that no Foreign Prince, Person, Prelate, State, or Potentate hath or ought to have any Power, Jurisdiction, Superio rity, Preeminence, or Authority, Ecclesi astical or Spiritual, within this Realm.

And shall Subscribe a Profession of their Christian Belief in these Words:

I A. B. Profess Faith in God the Fa ther, And in Jesus Christ his Eter nal Son, the true God, And in the Ho ly Spirit, one God blessed for evermore, And do acknowledge the Holy Scri ptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.

Which Declarations and Subscription shall be made and Entred of Record at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the County, City, or Place where every such Person shall then Reside. And eve ry such Person that shall Make and Sub scribe the Two Declarations and Pro fession aforesaid, being thereunto Requi red, shall be Exempted from all the Pains and Penalties of all and every the afore mentioned Statutes made against Po pish Recusants, or Protestant Noncon formists, and also from the Penalties of an Act made in the Fifth Year of the Reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, Inti tuled, An Act for the Assurance of the Queen`s Royal Power over all Estates, and Subjects within Her Dominions, For or by reason of such Persons not taking or refusing to take the Oath mentioned in the said Act; And also from the Penalties of an Act made in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Years of the Reign of King Charles the Second, Intituled, An Act for Preventing Mischiefs that may arise by certain Persons cal led Quakers, refusing to take Lawful Oaths; And enjoy all other the Benefits, Privi ledges, and Advantages under the like Limitations, Provisoes, and Conditions, which any other Dissenters shall or ought to enjoy by Virtue of this Act.

Provided always, And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That in case any person shall refuse to take the said Oaths, when tendred to them, which eve ry Justice of the Peace is hereby Im powered to do, such person shall not be admitted to Make and Subscribe the Two Declarations aforesaid, though required thereunto either before any Ju stice of the Peace, or at the General or Quarter Sessions, before or after any Conviction of Popish Recusancy, as afore said, unless such person can, within Thir ty one days after such tender of the De clarations to him, produce Two sufficent Protestant Witnesses, to Testifie upon Oath, that they believe him to be a Pro testant Dissenter, or a Certificate under the hands of Four Protestants, who are Conformable to the Church of England, or have taken the Oaths and Subscribed the Declaration above mentioned, and shall also produce a Certificate under the Hands and Seals of Six or more sufficient Men of the Congregation to which he belongs, owning him for one of them.

Provided also, and be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That until such Certificate, under the Hands of Six of his Congregation, as aforesaid, be produced, and Two Protestant Witnesses come to attest his being a Protestant Dissenter, or a Certificate under the hands of Four Protestants, as aforesaid, be produced, the Justice of the Peace shall and here by is Required to take a Recognizance with Two Sureties in the Penal Sum of Fifty pounds, to be Levyed of his Goods and Chattels, Lands, and Tene ments, to the Use of the King and Queens Majesties, Their Heirs and Successors, for his producing the same; And if he cannot give such Security, to Commit him to Prison, there to remain until he has produced such Certificates, or Two Witnesses, as aforesaid.

Provided always, and it is the true Intent and Meaning of this Act, That all the Laws made and provided for the frequenting of Divine Service on the Lord`s Day, commonly called Sunday, shall be still in Force, and Executed a gainst all persons that offend against the said Laws, Except such persons come to some Congregation or Assembly of Religious Worship, allowed or permit ted by this Act.

Provided always, and be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That neither this Act, nor any Clause [Korrigiert aus: anyClause.], Article, or Thing herein Contained, shall Extend or be Construed to Extend to give any Ease, Benefit, or Advantage to any Papist or Popish Recusant whatsoever, or any per son that shall deny in his Preaching or Writing the Doctrine of the Blessed Tri nity, as it is Declared in the aforesaid Articles of Religion.

Provided always, and be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any per son or persons, at any time or times after the Tenth day of June, do and shall wil lingly and of purpose, Maliciously or Con temptuously come into any Cathedral or Parish Church, Chappel, or other Con gregation permitted by this Act, and Disquiet or Disturb the same, or Misuse any Preacher or Teacher, such person or persons, upon proof thereof before any Ju stice of Peace, by Two or more sufficient Witnesses, shall find Two Sureties to be bound by Recognizance in the Penal Sum of Fifty pounds, and in default of such Sureties shall be Committed to Prison, there to remain till the next Ge neral or Quarter Sessions; And upon Conviction of the said Offence at the said General or Quarter Sessions, shall suffer the Pain and Penalty of Twenty pounds, to the Use of the King and Queens Majesties, Their Heirs and Suc cessors.

Provided always, That no Congrega tion or Assembly for Religious Worship shall be permitted or allowed by this Act, until the place of such Meeting shall be Certified to the Bishop of the Diocess, or to the Arch-Deacon of that Arch-Deaco nary, or to the Justices of the Peace at the General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the County, City, or Place in which such Meeting shall be held, and Registred in the said Bishops, or Arch Deacons Court respectively, or Recorded at the said General or Quarter Sessions; The Register or Clerk of the Peace whereof respectively is hereby Required to Register the same, and to give Certifi cate thereof to such Person as shall De mand the same, for which there shall be none greater Fee nor Reward taken, than [Korrigiert aus: then.] the Sum of Six pence.

Finis.