[1579/10/21]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
†Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the three estates and whole body of this [par]liament, ratifies and approves all and whatsoever acts and statutes made of before by his highness, with advice [of his] regents in his own reign or his predecessors, concerning the freedom and liberty of the true kirk of God and religion now presently professed within this realm, and especially ratifies and approves the sixth act of his highness's parliament held in the first year of his highness's reign, entitled 'Concerning the true and holy kirk and of those that are declared not to be of the same', ordaining the same to be here inserted of new (because of some defection and informality of words in default of the printer) in this form: Our sovereign lord, with advice of his three estates and whole body of this present parliament, has declared and declares the ministers of the blessed evangel of Jesus Christ, whom God of his mercy has now raised up amongst us, or hereafter shall raise, agreeing with them that now live in doctrine and administration of the sacraments, and the people of this realm that professes Jesus Christ as he is now offered in his evangel, and do communicate with the holy sacraments as in the reformed kirks of this realm are publicly administered, according to the Confession of the Faith, to be the only true and holy kirk of Jesus Christ within this realm; and decrees and declares that all and sundry who other[wise] gainsays the word of the evangel, received and approved as the heads of the Confession of the Faith professed in parliament of before in the year 1560, as also specified and registered in the acts of parliament made in the first year of his highness's reign, more particularly does express, ratified also and approved in this present parliament, or that refuses the participation of the holy sacraments as they are now administered, to be no members of the said kirk within this realm and true religion now presently professed, so long as they keep themselves so divided from the society of Christ's body.