Diocese of York

“ But to return to Thomas. In 1071 he went with Lanfranc to Rome to receive the pall. The question of precedence was there argued, and the Pope decided in favour of Canterbury. Afterwards, at a synod held by William, it was decided that the Archbishop of York should swear allegiance to Canterbury, and must be consecrated in Canterbury Cathedral, that the diocese of York from that time should not extend south of the Humber, and that the archbishop should lose his authority over the see of Worcester. ”

“ In York there are two courts, one called the consistory for the diocese, the other called the chancery for the province. But the same person was often official of both courts.
(k) In England the Constitutions of Clarendon added a provision for appeal to the king, “and if the archbishop shall have failed in doing justice recourse is to be had in the last resort (postremo) to our lord the king, that by his writ the controversy may be ended in the court of the archbishop; because there must be no further process without the assent of our lord the king.” ”

“ Yorkshire was suffering much from the black death, there was great poverty among the peasantry, and the diocese was in great need of discipline and reform. Thoresby gave himself up for nine years to this work, and in 1361 he thought the time had come for the rebuilding of the choir. We have already seen how at York, one great work led to another. The transepts were rebuilt that they might be in harmony with the grandeur of Roger's choir, the nave that it might not be eclipsed by the transepts ”

“ At the date of its repeal there was not a Catholic congregation in the State. Those Catholics who were among the pioneer settlers of Western New York had to go as far east as Albany to perform their religious duties or get their children baptized. Four years later—in [Pg 40] 1788—our region was included in the newly-formed diocese of Baltimore. In 1808 we came into the new diocese of New York. Not until 1821 do we find record of the visit of a priest to Buffalo. ”

“ He was appointed to the see of York by Ceolwulf, probably in 732 (Carmen de Pontiff. 1284; Addit. ad Bœdam, 734; A.-S, Chron, 735, Symeon) , and Bæda thereupon wrote him a long letter of advice as to his life and doctrine, the administration of his diocese, the evils that prevailed among the clergy, the corrupt state of the monasteries, and the measures of reform that he desired him to adopt ('Ad Ecgberctum antistitem,' Opera Hist. Min. 207-26) . ”

“ And what the Bishops of Lincoln were doing in their vast diocese, other bishops were also doing all up and down the country; the episcopal registers abound in records of these “taxations,” as they were called. [88] We take two or three examples from the register of Walter de Gray, Archbishop of York, 1215-1256.
The name of Kirkby Malamdale shows that it was an ancient parish. A charter of King John confirmed the gift of it by Adam Fitz Adam to the canons of West Dereham in Norfolk, quod suos in usus convertant proprios, salvâ tamen decenti et [Pg 103] honorifica administratione ejus ecclesiæ. ”

“ This district of Carlisle does not answer to any modern shire, and it is of course not surveyed in Domesday. But it does answer to the diocese of Carlisle, as it stood before late changes. 549 That diocese took in part of modern Cumberland and part of modern Westmoreland. The rest of those shires, with Lancashire north of Ribble and the wapentake of Ewecross (Pipe Rolls, p. xlii) , formed the Domesday district of Agemundreness (see Domesday, 301 b) , forming part of Yorkshire, as it formed part of York diocese till the changes under Henry the Eighth. Mr. ”

“ Our Convocation appears at no time to have acted a very prominent part, though its constitution is far better fitted for a working synod than that of the southern province. In the latter the parochial clergy are so inadequately represented as to be much outnumbered by the dignitaries appointed by the crown and the bishops; but in York there are two proctors chosen by the clergy of each archdeaconry and peculiar jurisdiction, and two by each cathedral chapter ”

“ And as he of Canterbury crowneth the king, so this of York doth the like to the queen, whose perpetual chaplain he is, and hath been from time to time, since the determination of this controversy, as writers do report. The first also hath under his jurisdiction to the number of one-and-twenty inferior bishops; the other hath only four, by reason that the churches of Scotland are now removed from his obedience unto an archbishop of their own, whereby the greatness and circuit of the jurisdiction of York is not a little diminished. ”

“ Another peculiarity in the Convocation of York is, that it assembles in one house, the bishops commonly appearing by their proxies (priests) , and the archbishop presiding by his commissioner, who is always the dean, or one of the residentiary canons of York.
In 1462 (temp. Archbishop Booth) the Convocation of York decreed that such constitutions of the province of Canterbury as were not prejudicial to those of York should be received, incorporated, and deemed as their own (Wilkins's Concilia, vol. iii. p. 580.) . ”

“ Richard, who succeeded Thomas à Becket, was a monastic priest, mild, and somewhat time-serving, conniving at irregularities, and never apparently provoked out of his meekness, except by the perpetual struggle for precedence with the see of York—and no wonder, when, at a synod at Westminster, Roger, Archbishop of York, fairly sat down in his lap on finding him occupying the seat of honor next to the legate. Upon this the Pope interfered, pronouncing the Archbishop of York, Primate of England, and him of Canterbury, Primate of all England ”

“ The unity of the Church, which has been in part cut asunder, not as it seems for any reasonable cause but from grasping at power, should, if it can be done, be restored in peaceful ways; the rent should be stitched up again. You should take counsel with all your bishops, and with your brother of York, on this principle, that the pious father Higbert of Lichfield be not deprived of his pall during his lifetime, but the consecration of [116] bishops must come back to the holy and primal see. ”

“ But the bishop of London shall, for the future, be always consecrated by his own synod, and receive the pall, which is the token of his office, from this holy and Apostolic see, which I, by the grace of God, now serve. But we would have you send to the city of York such a bishop as you shall think fit to ordain; yet so, that if that city, with the places adjoining, shall receive the Word of God, that bishop shall also ordain twelve bishops, and enjoy the honour of a metropolitan; for we design, if we live, by the help of God, to bestow on him also the pall ”

“ Many monasteries had in Bæda’s time fallen into an evil condition, and as the Church needed an efficient diocesan organization, he advised Ecgberht to strive for the fulfilment of Pope Gregory’s scheme as regards the Church in the north, which provided that the see of York should be metropolitan, and that the province should be divided into twelve bishoprics. The new bishops should, he proposed, be supported out of the funds of monasteries, which were in some cases to be placed under episcopal rule. ”

“ Thoroughly Protestant in doctrine and in worship, all her affinities and tendencies are toward the Presbyterian and other non-Episcopal denominations of the age. No church on earth, whose episcopal succession can be traced to any apostolic source, has ever recognized hers as beyond question, or admitted her claim to be a portion of the Catholic Church of Christ. Her very episcopate itself is, practically, as the recent events in New York have shown, a rank of honor and of office not of power. ”

“ USE. In former times each bishop had the power of making some improvements in the liturgy of his church: in process of time, different customs arose, and several became so established, as to receive the names of their respective churches. Thus gradually the “Uses” or customs of York, Sarum, Hereford, Bangor, Lincoln, Aberdeen, &c., came to be distinguished from each other.
The missals and other ritual books of York and Hereford have been printed; but we have inquired in vain for the names of the bishops who originated the unessential peculiarities which they contain. ”

“ In order to surmount the difficulty, King John (A.D. 1206) summoned all the priors and abbots to parliament, and obtained from them a vote of a thirteenth: and then wrote to the archdeacons to get the same from the clergy generally. Edward I. rendered this scheme for the taxation of the clergy complete. He applied to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to assemble, by their canonical authority, the convocations of each province; and these Metropolitans, moved by the King's writ (the same practice is settled now) , summoned these bishops and clergy. ”

“ Aidan, a monk of Iona was sent, and became Bishop of Lindisfarne (635-657) . He was succeeded by Finan (651-661) ; Colman (661-664) ; and Tuda (664-5) . But these men cannot be accounted bishops of York. None of them received the pall, which, indeed, was given to no bishop of York between Paulinus and Egbert (735) .
Ceadda and Wilfrid (664-678) . Wilfrid, who had been educated in Italy, became Bishop of York, with jurisdiction over the whole of Northumbria. He refused, however, to be consecrated by a British prelate, and went to Gaul for that purpose. ”

“ First, from 1693 until Revolutionary times Episcopacy was virtually established by law in a large part of the province,—in the city and county of New York, and in the counties of Westchester, Richmond, and Queens; and though the Dutch Reformed church was protected and respected, people of all denominations were obliged to contribute to the support of the Episcopal church. ”

“ The clergyman, as soon as he is appointed, comes into possession of it in his own right; and he is not appointed by the people, but by some nobleman or high officer of state, who has inherited the right to appoint the clergyman of that particular parish. There are bishops, also, who have very large revenues, likewise independent; and over these bishops is one great dignitary, who presides in lofty state over the whole system. This officer is called the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is one other archbishop, called the Archbishop of York; but his realm is much more limited and less important. ”

“ Thus, in the latter half of the thirteenth century, the church of Adlingfleet in Yorkshire became the subject of a long law-suit between two separate patrons, the archbishop of York, and their presentees, which was protracted for nearly thirty years before the royal and papal courts. The candidates, all non-residents, strove to obstruct each other. In the parish itself they made attempts to defend their rights by force, and it is difficult to see how, during this period of strife, the cure of souls could have been adequately served. ”

“ The truth is, that the former endeavoured after their own aggrandizement in every possible way, but had no inherent right of exemption from the fact of their being lords of parliament, or being invested with the mitre. Thus it appears from Dugd. Monast. that Gloucester, Winchcomb, and Tewkesbury were subject to the visitation and jurisdiction of the bishop of Worcester, till the Reformation; Croyland, Peterborough, Bardney, and Ramsey to the bishop of Lincoln; St. Mary in York, and Selby, to the archbishop of York, and Coventry to the bishop of Lichfield. ”

“ As has been said, the choir of the minster remained unusually small for so important a church. The eleventh and twelfth centuries were periods of great activity in church building, and many of the Norman architects planned their works on a vast scale. With the examples of Durham, Winchester, and St. Albans before them, it was natural that the archbishops of the Metropolitan Church of York should be dissatisfied with the size of their own choir. It fell to the lot of Roger, the rival of Thomas à Becket, to rebuild it. The date of his nave is approximately 1154-1181. ”

“ Thomas à Becket, his successor as Archdeacon of Canterbury, had also advanced to the dignity of the archiepiscopate, but he had fallen a victim to his zeal for the Church spiritual, and his martyrdom and canonisation had entailed a shrine in the Cathedral which was eliciting from innumerable pilgrims munificent offerings for the fabric of the church. [Pg 29] If York were to compete with Canterbury it was necessary that here, too, a shrine of some popular saint should attract the presence of the devout, and appeal to their munificence and liberality. ”

“ The archbishop of York has immediate spiritual jurisdiction as metropolitan in the case of all vacant sees within the province of York, analogous to that which is exercised by the archbishop of Canterbury within the province of Canterbury. ”

“ During his episcopate the see of York probably played the most important part it has ever taken in the history of England. At that time, more than any other, the future of learning, civilisation, and humanity was in the hands of the priests, and the English toto divisi ab orbe were kept in touch with the slowly reviving culture of Europe by the cosmopolitan Church of Rome. ”

“ The monasteries grew worse and worse. The people were taught only what they could teach themselves. The consistory courts became more oppressive. Pluralities multiplied, and non-residence and profligacy. Favoured parish clergy held as many as eight benefices. [15] Bishops accumulated sees, and, unable to attend to all, attended to none. Wolsey himself, the Church reformer (so little did he really know what a reformation meant) , was at once Archbishop of York, Bishop of Winchester, and of Durham, and Abbot of St Alban's. ”