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Summary Elizabeth I: What shaped the religious settlement?
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Document explores religious settlements under Elizabeth I
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1What shaped the religious settlement? Personal views, influence from the
English people or from abroad?
It was common knowledge that Elizabeth largely followed the Protestant faith and their
was an expectation for her to return to Protestantism. Though she had her own beliefs she
recognised the instability of the Church and the contention it caused, so finding middle
ground was preferable in order to stop confusion and prevent a civil war. Furthermore,
other foreign powers would have largely influenced the extent of a Protestant reform due
to the fact that England was still at war with France, and Spain and Scotland were also
Catholic. Though this was made easier when Spain and France reconciled through the
Treaty of Câteau Cambrésis.
Act of Supremacy (1559):
- Re-established the English monarch as the head of the Church, though she chose the
title of ‘Supreme Governor’
- By choosing a less controversial title she was able to satisfy those people who still
regarded the Pope as the rightful head of the Church or those who felt it was wrong for a
woman to have such a high position
- Required all churchmen to swear an oath of loyalty to their new Supreme Governor
- To make sure the change in leadership was truly being accepted at parish level,
commissioners were sent out to investigate
- A new court was established, the Court of High Commission in order to prosecute those
whose loyalty was suspect
Organisation of the Church of England:
- Beyond change of leadership, little else was altered about the national organisation of
the Church
- England continued to have two archbishops- Canterbury and York and bishops would
remain
- This form of organisation did not appear in any of the Protestant churches in Europe,
which placed more emphasis on each congregation organising itself
Act of Uniformity (1559):
- Set out rules about the appearances of churches
- It said that any practices which had existed in 1549 when the first Prayer Book had been
issued should still be followed
- Altar was replaced by more Protestant communion table, Catholic artefacts such as
crosses and candles could be placed on it
- Set out what priests should wear to conduct services- another nod to Catholicism as
Protestants believed it was the words that were spoken not what they wore
- By keeping a Catholic appearance to the church was the wisest move
, 2
- Most people were less concerned with theological disputes over communion services so
would accept a mildly Protestant form of worship
- To make sure that there was uniformity of worship, attendance at church was made
compulsory
- Anyone failing to attend could be fined (although small and not usually imposed)- money
was collected and distributed to the poor
- Attendance at Catholic Mass rather than the communion service of the Church of
England was treated as a serious offence with a heavy fine
- Anyone saying Mass could face the death penalty
Royal Injunctions (1559):
- 57 injunctions, including rules that:
• preachers had to be licensed by a bishop before they could begin preaching
• preachers had to preach at least one service each month or lose their licence
• every church had to display a Bible written in English
• pilgrimages were to be outlawed
• no more altars were to be destroyed
Prayer Book (1559):
- Act of Uniformity- establish a single agreed set of doctrines throughout the country,
ending the quarrels between Protestants and Catholics
- New Prayer Book was issued which set out the way that services should be conducted
- The Book of Common Prayer issued in 1559 was a fusion of the two Prayer Books
issued in Edward’s reign
- It amalgamated the moderate language of the 1549 book with the more openly
Protestant words in the 1552 book
Meaning of the bread and wine:
- In 1559 the Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer struck a balance by requiring priests to
say:
• “The body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee, preserve thy body and
soul unto everlasting life, and take, and eat this, in remembrance that Christ died for
thee, feed on him in thine heart by faith and thanksgiving”
Thirty Nine Articles (1563):
- The Convocation of the Church set about the task of producing a definitive statement of
what ‘Anglicanism’ meant
- Thirty Nine Articles was made law in 1571
- Welded together from different Protestant and Catholic traditions into a whole that was
acceptable to most people
Act of Exchange (1559):
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