by Charles Bartlett
This prayer was authored by the Rev. John Foxe as part of Queen Elizabeth’s 1578 Book of Christian Prayers: collected out of ancient writers and best learned in our tyme. After the death of Mary I, Foxe served as Vicar and Prebend at Salisbury Cathedral. During this time he edited and finalized his Acts and Monuments, a history of protestant martyrdom. Foxe was shared the opinion that the medieval office of Papacy was antichrist, calling Roman celibacy ‘self-castration’. This idea of self-castration arises in Foxe’s prayers where he comments that the Anglo character provokes trouble, being “so unnatural to ourselves…greedy for newfangle novelties”. Foxe is referring to the instability of Edward’s regime soon followed by Queen Mary I’s counter-reformation. Foxe welcomed the stability brought by Elizabeth’s rule, “as she hath now doubled the years of her sister and brother, so (if it be thy pleasure) she may overgrow in reigning the reign of her father.
The written prayers found in Elizabeth’s 1578 Primer are akin to brief homilies, having as much a teaching nature as intercession. Foxe describes the northern european countries who have embraced protestantism as that Western angle, “only a little angle of the West parts yet remaineth in some profession of thy Name”. Foxe blames two enemies—the Turk and Roman bishop—who together squeeze the national churches like a vice. The Turk not only has subdued Eastern christians, but in 1570 they threaten Europe at her gates. Meanwhile the Papacy busies itself with the persecution and burnings of northern catholics. There is a subtext behind both. Foxe betrays a kindredness with the East, but it is more nostalgic than actual. The present religion of the East is considered by Foxe as either unfaithful or ‘decayed’ due to Turkish rule. But the East is like England in so far as polities were both national and long ago blessed with learned divines. In keeping with a national model of the provincial church, Foxe recognizes the Papacy as no more than the bishop of Rome, calling him an “Italian Lord”. Especially touching is Foxe’s lament for protestant divisions, “protestants with protestants do not agree, but fall out for trifles.” Indeed! In this prayer the Queen is raised up as not only a regent for peace but a counter-salve to the pretentions of Italy and possibly Ottomans.
The Rev. John Foxe’s prayer begins:
(Clay, pp. 465-66) “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who wast crucified for our sins, and didst rise again for our justification, and, ascending up to heaven, reignest now at the right hand of the Father, with full power and authority, ruling and disposing all things according to thine own gracious and glorious purpose: we, sinful creatures, and yet servants and members of thy church, do prostrate ourselves and our prayers before thy imperial magesty, having no other patron nor advocate to seed our suits, or to resort unto, but thee alone, beseeching thee to be good to thy poor church militant here in this wretched earth; sometime a rich church, a large church, an universal church, spread far and wide, through the whole compass of the earth; now driven into a narrow corner of the world, and hath much need of thy gracious help. “
The Turk and Eastern Churches:
First, the Turk with his sword, what lands, what nations, and countries, what empires, kingdoms, and provinces, with cities innumerable, hath he won, not from us, but from thee. Where thy name was wont to be invocated, thy word preached, thy sacraments administered, there now remaineth barbarous Mahumet, with his flithy Alcoran. The flourishing churches in Asia, the learned churches of Grecia, the manifold churches in Africa, which were wont to serve thee, now are gone from thee. The seven churches of Asia with their candlesticks (whom thou didst so well forewarn) are now removed. All the churches, where thy diligent apostle St. Paul, thy apostles Peter adn John, and other apostles, so laboriously travailed, preaching and writing to plant thy gospel, are now gone from thy gospel. In all the kingdom of Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Persia, in all Armenia, and the empire of Cappadocia, through the whole compass of Asia, with Egypt, and with Africa also (unless among the far Ethiopians some old steps of Christianity peradventure do yet remain), either else in all Asia and Africa thy church hath not one foot of free land, but is all turned either to infidelity or to captivity, whatsoever pertaineth to thee. And if Asia and Africa only were decayed, the decay were great, but the defection were not so universal.
Now of Europa a great part also is shrunk from thy church. All Thracia, with the empire of Constantinople, all Grecia, Epirus, Illyricum, adn now of late all the kingdom almost of Hungaria, with much of Austria, with lamentable slaughter of Christian blood, is wasted, and all become Turks. Only a little angle of the West parts yet remaineth in some profession of thy Name.
But here (slack) cometh another mischief, as great, or greater than the other. For the Turk with his sword is not so cruel, but the bishop of Rome on the other side is more fierce and bitter against us; stirring up his bishops to burn us, his confederates to conspire our destruction, setting kings against their subjects, and subjects disloyally to rebel against their princes, and all for thy name.
Such dissension and hostility Sathan hath sent among us, that Turks be not more enemies to Christians, than Christian to Christians, papists to protestants: yea, protestants with protestants do not agree, but fall out for trifles. So that the poor little flock of thy church, distressed on every side, hath neither rest without, nor peace within, no place almost in the world, where to abide, but may cry now from the earth, even as thine own reverence cried once from the cross: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The Bishop of Rome and Protestant Troubles:
Amongst us Englishmen here in England, after so great storms of persecution and cruel murther of so many martyrs, it hath pleased thy grace to give us these Alcyon days, which yet we enjoy, and beseech thy merciful goodness still they may continue.
But here also (alack) what should we say? so many enemies we have, that envy us this rest and tranquility, and do what they can to disturb it. They which be friends and lovers of the bishop of Rome, although they eat the fat of the land, and have the best preferments and offices, and live most at ease, and ail nothing, yet are they not therewith content. They grudge, they mutter and murmur, they conspire and take on against us. It fretteth them, tha tw live by them, or with them and cannot abide, that we should draw the bare breathing of the air, when they have all the most liberty of the land.
And albeit thy singular goodness hath given them a Queen so calm, so patient, so merciful, more like natural mother than a princess, to govern over them, such as neither they nor their ancestors ever read of in the stories of this land before: yet all this wil not calm them, their unquiet spirit is not yet content; they repine and rebel, and needs would have, with the frogs of Aesop, a Ciconia, an Italian stranger, the bishop of Rome, to play Rex over them, and care not, if all the world were set a fire, so that they, with their Italian lord, might reign alone. So found are we Englishmen of strange and foreign things: so unnatural to ourselves, so greedy of newfangle novelties, never contented with any state long to continue, be it never so good; and, furthermore, so cruel to one another, that we think our life not quiet, unless it be seasoned with the blood of other. For that is their hope, that is all their gaping and looking, that is their golden day, their day of Jubilee, which they thirst for so much: not to have the Lord to come in the clouds, but to have our blood, and to spill our lives. That, that is it, which they would have, and long since would have had their wills upon us, had not thy gracious pity and mercy raised up to us this our merciful Queen, thy servant Elizabeth, somewhat to stay their fury: for whom as we most condignly give thee thanks, so likewise we beseech thy heavenly majesty, that, as thou hast given her unto us, and hast from so manifold dangers preserved her, before she was queen, so now, in her royal estate, she may continually be preserved not only from the hands, but from all malignant devices wrought, attempted, or conceived, of enemies, both ghostly and bodily, against her.”
The prayer then continues with blessings for the estates of England before returning to the usurpation of the Roman pontiff, “And forasmuch as the bishop of Rome is wont on every Good Friday to accurse us, as damned heretics, we curse not him, but pray for him, that he with all his partakers either may be turned to a better truth; or else, we prayer thee, gracious Lord, that we never agree with him in dotrine, adn that he may so curse us still, and never bless us more, as he blessed us in queen Mary’s time. God, of thy mercy keep away that blessing from us.” (p. 467)
The topic of the Roman anti-christ and English estate prayers give insight to national churches & protestant monarchism. They likely deserve their own posts. But for filler, I’ll leave this 1539 prayer from Hilsey’s Primer, titled The Bishop of Rome with his adherences, destroyers of all estates,
“There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you likewise, which privily shall bring in damnable sects, even denying the Lord that hath bought them, and shall bring upon themselves swift damnation. And many shall follow their damnable ways, by whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you, upon whom the judgment is not negligent in tarrying of old, and their damnation sleepeth not. They count it pleasure to live deliciously for a season. Spots are they and flithiness, living at pleasure and in deceivable ways, feasting with that which is yours, having eyes full of adultery, and cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart exercised with covetnousness. They are cursed children, and have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, which loved the reward of unrighteousness, but was rebuked of his iniquity. ” (Three Primers, p. 436)
