Letters Patent - Royal License to the Convocation of Canterbury [1865-06-26]
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VICTORIA, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, to all to whom these Presents shall come, greeting.
Whereas in and by one Act of Parliament, made at Westminster in the five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, reciting, that whereas the King's humble and obedient subjects the Clergy of the Realm of England had not only acknowledged, according to the truth, that the Convocation of the same Clergy were always, had been, and ought to be, assembled only by the King's writ, but also submitting themselves unto the King's Majesty, had promised, in verbo sacerdotis, that they would never, from thenceforth, presume to attempt, allege, claim, or put in use, or enact, promulge, or execute any new Canons, Constitutions, Ordinances, provincial or other, or by whatsoever other name they should be called in the Convocation, unless the said King's most Royal assent and license might to them be had, to make, promulge, and execute the same; and that the said King did give his most Royal assent and authority in that behalf. It was therefore enacted by the authority of the said Parliament according to the said submission and petition of the said clergy, amongst other things, that they, nor any of them from thenceforth, should enact, promulge, or execute any such Canons, Constitutions, or Ordinances Provincial, by whatsoever name they might be called in their Convocations in time coming, which always should be assembled by authority of the King's writ, unless the said clergy might have the King's most Royal assent and license to make, promulge, and execute such Canons, Constitutions, Ordinances, provincial or provincial, upon pain of every one of the said clergy, doing contrary to the said Act, and being therefore convict to suffer imprisonment, and make fine, at the King's will. And further by the said Act it is provided, that no Canons, Constitutions, or Ordinances should be made or put in execution within this Realm, by authority of the Convocations of the Clergy, which shall be contrariant or repugnant to the King's Prerogative Royal, or the Customs, Laws, or Statutes of this Realm, anything in the said Act to the contrary thereof, notwithstanding. And, lastly, it is also provided by the said Act, that such Canons, Constitutions, Ordinances and Synodals Provincial, which then were already made, and which were not contrary or repugnant to the Laws, Statutes, and Customs of this Realm, nor to the damage or hurt of the King's Prerogative Royal, should then still be used and executed as they were afore the making of the said Act, till such time as they should be viewed, searched, or otherwise ordered and determined, by the persons mentioned in the said Act, or the more part of them, according to the tenor, or form and effect of the said Act, as by the said Act amongst divers other things, more fully and at large it doth and may appear. Know ye, that We for divers urgent and weighty causes and considerations, Us thereunto especially moving, of Our especial grace, by virtue of Our Prerogative Royal and supreme authority in Causes Ecclesiastical, have given and granted, and by these presents do give and grant, full, free, and lawful liberty, license, power, and authority unto The Most Reverend Father in God, Our right trusty and well beloved Counsellor Charles Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, President of this present Convocation of the Clergy of the Province of Canterbury for this present Parliament now assembled, and to the rest of the Bishops of the same Province, and to all the Deans of the Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, Archdeacons, Chapters, and Colleges, and the whole of the Clergy of every Diocese within the said Province, That the said Archbishop of Canterbury, President of the said Convocation, and the rest of the Bishops of the said Province, or the greater number of them whereof the said President of the said Convocation to be one, and the rest of the said Clergy of the said Convocation within the said Province of Canterbury, or the greater part of them shall and may from time to time during the present Parliament, confer, treat, debate, consider, consult and agree, of and upon, and concerning the making promulging and executing a new Canon in the place of the thirty-sixth Canon of one thousand six hundred and three, as now existing, and altering, amending or repealing of any part of the same, and also of altering and amending the thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, and fortieth of the said Canons. And We do give and grant Our full, free, and lawful liberty, license, power and authority to them, to substitute a new Canon, in the place of the said thirty-sixth Canon, as now existing, and to make, promulge, and execute such altered and amended Canon, or such new Canon accordingly; and also to alter and amend the thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth and fortieth of the said Canons as aforesaid, as they the said President, and the Bishops, or the greater part of them, and the Clergy of the said Province, or the greater part of them shall think necessary, fit and convenient, for the honour and service of Almighty God, the good and quiet of the Church, and the better government thereof, to be when showed, approved and confirmed, by Us, from time to time, observed, performed, fulfilled and kept, as well by the said Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops and their successors, and the rest of the whole Clergy of the said Province of Canterbury, in their several callings, offices, functions, ministries, degrees and administrations, as also by all and every other Judge or Judges of the said Archbishop's Courts, Guardians of Spiritualties, Chancellors, Deans and Chapters, Archdeacons, Commissaries, Officials, Registers, and all and every other Ecclesiastical Officers, and their inferior Ministers whatsoever, of the same Province of Canterbury, in their and every of their distinct Courts, and in the order, manner and form of their said every of their proceedings, and by all other persons within this realm, as far as lawfully, being members of the Church, it may concern them. And We do also, by these presents, give and grant, unto the said Archbishop of Canterbury, President of the said Convocation, and to the rest of the Bishops of the Province of Canterbury, and unto all Deans of Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, Archdeacons, Chapters and Colleges, and the whole Clergy of Our several Dioceses within the said Province, full, free, and lawful liberty, license, power and authority, that they and every of them respectively residing in the said Convocation, and the rest of the said Bishops of the same Province, or the greater number of them, shall, and may set down in writing, in such form as hath been heretofore accustomed, the said Canons, all or any part thereof so altered, amended or repealed, or a new Canon or new Canons made, promulged and executed, altered, amended or substituted in place thereof, as by them from time to time conferred, treated, debated, considered, compiled and agreed upon, and the same, so set down in writing, shall and may exhibit and deliver, or cause to be exhibited and delivered unto Us, to the end that We, upon mature consideration, by Us to be taken thereupon, may allow, approve, confirm and ratify, or otherwise disallow, annihilate and make void, the whole, or any part of the said Canon or Canons so to be, by force of these presents made new, altered, or amended, considered, consulted, made, promulged, executed and agreed upon, as We shall think fit, requisite and convenient. Provided always, that the said Canon or Canons, so to be made anew, altered or amended considered, consulted, made, promulged, executed and agreed upon, as aforesaid be not contrary or repugnant to the Doctrine, Orders and Ceremonies of the United Church of England and Ireland, already established: Provided also, and Our express will, pleasure, and command, is, that the said Canon or Canons, or any part thereof, so to be, by the force of these presents, made anew, altered or amended, considered, consulted, made, promulged, executed, and agreed upon, shall not be of any force, effect, or validity, to the law, but only so much thereof, and after such time as We, by Our Letters Patent, under Our Great Seal, shall allow, approve, and confirm the same, anything, being in these presents contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. In witness whereof, We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent. Witness Ourself, at Our Palace at Westminster, this twenty-sixth day of June one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty's Command, [sic]
Cardew. [sic]
I hereby certify this to be a true copy of the original grant.
C. B. Cardew, Clerk of the Patents
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Special Features
"By Her Majesty's Command," on the other hand, is normally seen in Royal Warrants, and the Clerk of the Crown’s surname was Romilly rather than Cardew.
This suggests the text of the Letters Patent was taken from the Patent Roll entry. These commonly use "By Her Majesty's Command" as the eschatocol since they technically record the Warrant which authorized the use of the Great Seal (cf. The Crown Office's General Guidance for Warrants and Patents). But Patent Roll entries do not include the name of the minister who countersigned the Warrant. Someone at the House of Commons may have seen Cardew's name in the attestation and added it to the eschatocol as a hypercorrection.