r the ancient councils
have utterly condemned: that we call home again, as much as ever we can,
the right discipline of the Church, which our adversaries have quite
brought into a poor and weak case. That we punish all licentiousness of
life, and unruliness of manners, by the old and long-continued laws, and
with as much sharpness as is convenient, and lieth in our power. That we
maintain still the state of kingdoms, in the same condition and plight
wherein we have found them, without any diminishing or alteration,
reserving unto our princes their majesties and worldly pre-eminence, safe
and without impairing, to our possible power. That we have so gotten
ourselves away from that Church, which they had made a den of thieves,
and wherein nothing was in good frame, or once like to the Church of God,
and which, themselves confessed, had erred many ways, even as Lot in
times past gat him out of Sodom, or Abraham out of Chaldea, not upon a
desire of contention, but by the warning of God Himself. And that we
have searched out of the Holy Bible, which we are sure cannot deceive,
one sure form of religion, and have returned again unto the primitive
Church of the ancient fathers and Apostles; that is to say, to the first
ground and beginning of things, as unto the very foundations and
headsprings of Christ's Church. And in very truth we have not tarried
for in this matter the authority or consent of the Tridentine council,
wherein we saw nothing done uprightly, nor by good order; where also
everybody was sworn to the maintenance of one man; where our prince's
ambassadors were contemned; where not one of our divines could be heard,
and where parts-taking and ambition was openly and earnestly procured and
wrought; but, as the holy fathers in former time, and as our predecessors
have commonly done, we have restored our churches by a provincial
convocation, and have clean shaken off, as our duty was, the yoke and
tyranny of the bishop of Rome, to whom we were not bound; who also had no
manner of thing like, neither to Christ, nor to Peter, nor to an Apostle,
nor yet like to any bishop at all. Finally, we say, that we agree
amongst ourselves touching the whole judgment and chief substance of
Christian religion, and with one mouth, and with one spirit, do worship
God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wherefore, O Christian and godly reader, forasmuch as thou seest the
reasons and causes, both why we have restored religio