Elizabeth - Religion and the Settlement

Question 1

Act of Supremacy 1559

Answer 1

• To sever connections with Rome
• Elizabeth names herself “Supreme Governor”
• Clergy and royal officials made to swear an oath to accept this title - those who refused to do so more than twice could face the death penalty
• Marian laws on heresy repealed
• Commission for Ecclesiastical Causes (the High Commission) established to judge orthodox doctrine

-The Marian bishops lacked the support to block the bill’s passage: only one layman voted against it in Lords

Question 2

Act of Uniformity 1559

Answer 2

• Required the use of a Book of Common Prayer in all churches
• Punishment system created for those that refused or publically went against the book

Question 3

Book of Common Prayer 1559

Answer 3

• Based on the Edwardian prayer books of 1549 and 1552
• Black Rubric Proclamation removed
• Insulting references to the Pope removed
• Priests instructed to use the words of both the 1549 and 1552 books. As a result, the wording was vague and could therefore appeal to both Protestants and Catholics during communion

Question 4

Act of Exchange 1559

Answer 4

• Elizabeth given the right to exchange church property in her possession in exchange for temporal (non-spiritual) property in the Church’s possession
• Bishops banned from renting out land for leases longer than 21 years (except to the Crown)
• Partly an attempt to keep the cost of church land high

Question 5

Royal Injunctions 1559

Answer 5

• Clergy made to observe and teach about Royal Supremacy and the Pope’s alleged usurpation of the right of the monarch to govern the Church
• Pilgrimages strictly forbidden
• Recusants were to be reported to Justices of the Peace or in some cases, the Privy Council
• No preaching was to take place without official permission – licenses had to be obtained
• Each parish made to order a copy of the English Bible and Erasmus’ Paraphrases

Question 6

Unlicensed preaching

Answer 6

• Elizabeth saw unlicensed preaching as disruptive of social and religious order
• People who gathered en masse could be persuaded or turned against her government
• Elizabeth’s use of bishops as instruments of the Church would be disrupted by unofficial preaching – a small number of bishops would be unable to control so many preachers

Question 7

Crucifix Controversy 1559

Answer 7

• Elizabeth demanded that all churches kept their crucifix and all crucifixes destroyed during visitations were to be restored
• Bishops such as Jewel and Sandys threatened to resign, as they believed it to be a blatantly Catholic symbol
• Elizabeth eventually backed down
• The crucifix Chapel Royal was made to remain, where foreign ambassadors could see it

Question 8

39 Articles 1563

Answer 8

• Article 17 sanctions the belief in the Protestant doctrine of predestination
• Directly denounces Catholic doctrine such as transubstantiation

Question 9

Vestairian Controversy 1566

Answer 9

• Matthew Parker (Archbishop of Canterbury) publishes his Advertisings, which attempts to make clear what was expected of clergy in terms of clerical dress
• A distinctive garb introduced to show rank: Parker insisted on the traditional square cap, which would be replaced by a hat on long journeys
• Of 110 clergy present at the showing of these new vestments, 37 refused to accept them on the grounds that they were papistical (an insulting Protestant term meaning “Catholic-like”). They were subsequently suspended from their offices
• Parker wanted Elizabeth to officially endorse the Advertisings, but she refused

Question 10

Changes made by Archbishop Parker

Answer 10

• A distinctive garb introduced to show rank: Parker insisted on the traditional square cap, which would be replaced by a hat on long journeys
• Clergy reminded that congregations were to be given the bread and wine whilst kneeling
• The font is made to be used for baptism, rather than the Protestant basin
• Dignitaries in cathedrals and collegiate churches allowed to wear more vestments than other clergy

Question 11

Excommunication

Answer 11

1570

Question 12

Three Acts 1571

Answer 12

• Treason Act of 1534 under Henry VIII restored
• Ordination of Ministers Act forces clergy to agree with the 39 Articles
• It is made illegal for any papal bulls (namely the one excommunicating her) to be brought into England and Wales or for the orders of papal bulls to be carried out

Question 13

Measures against Catholics

Answer 13

• 1581 - Government fines for recusancy increase
• 1593 - Parliament makes large gatherings of Catholics illegal and confine them to a radius of 5 miles from their homes to prevent recusants from travelling
• 1602 - Royal Proclamation orders all Jesuits to leave the country