3. Background
When Edward, who had been educated as a
Protestant, came to the throne it sparked hope in
people that the Lutheran and even Calvinist doctrines
would influence the reform in England
When Somerset was appointed lord protector this
placed the reformers firmly in power ;as was wished
by Henry VIII in his will
4. Attitudes towards reform
Immediate government circle
Somerset:
Somerset was a moderate Protestant and, although he
devoted himself to the cause, hw had no real interest in it’s
theology.
He was a religiously tolerant man and preferred a
cautious approach towards the reform
Although he had Calvinist leanings and there is evidence
of letters to and from John Calvin. There is little evidence
to show this influenced him in important decisions.
5. Bishops:
There was little agreement amongst the bishops
The majority supported the royal supremacy and split
from Rome.
Remained divided on the issues of religious reforms
In support of
reforms
Against the
reforms
Other
Thomas Cranmer,
Nicholas Ridley
and the bishop of
Rochester led nine
bishops in support
of the reforms
Stephen Gardiner,
Bishop of
Winchester,
Edmund Bonner
and the Bishop of
London led ten
bishops who
opposed this
reform
Eight bishops
were also
undecided
6. This meant that both the privy
council and Somerset had to act
cautiously when reforming the
church in order to prevent a
revolt
7. Outside the immediate government circle
Most of the ruling elites did not oppose some measure of
religious reform
The lower clergy tendered to oppose. It has been suggested
that this is because the English parish clergy was still
largely uneducated and did not want to complicate their
traditional way of life
The majority of the population were also still majorly
Catholic and believed that parts of their culture and beliefs
in witchcraft, formed parts of the traditional church
ceremony.
8. Exceptions:
In east Anglia consisted mostly of Protestant refugees
and therefore there was lots of support for the reforms
In the larger towns of London where the clergy were
educated, there were vocal minorities who demanded
religious change at a rapid pace.
9. Why the privy council introduced
such moderate reform
Prompted by Gardiner many believed any religious
changes should have not been made until Edward
became 18.
A report on the state of the clergy, doctrine and
practices was compiled for autumn 1547
In order to spread the practices of Protestantism each
parish was ordered to purchase Cranmer's ‘book of
homilies, and paraphrases by Erasmus.’
Bishops were later instructed to teach their services
in English and a sermon had to be preached every
sunday
10. Bishops were also instructed to have a library of
protestant literature including an English bible for
each parish.
Furthermore all images and statues were removed
from the churches
However this did not please those protestants who
were more vocal on what they wanted
These moderate reforms were put in place to prevent
a Catholic backlash, however they did not want to
seem to repressive of protestants
11. Radical reforms
The reformers attacked the catholic churches and bishops
using pamphlet attacks, who were accused of being self
seeking royal servants. While others criticized the wealth
of the church.
However the protestants did not agree on what doctrines
should be produced.
In areas where there were large numbers of protestant
refugees from Europe large riots broke out, which
included outbreaks of iconoclasm.
These were often provoked by extreme millenarianists
who wanted amore equal society.
The privy council did not react to this which enraged the
conservative bishops
12. Problems
The new regime for reform still felt insecure in1547
although it was freely discussed as they were afraid
that major changes could provoke more unrest and
even the fall of the government
Two new pieces of legislation were published but they
did little to resolve the uncertainties
13. The Chantries act:
This was to raise money in order to continue the war
with France and Scotland
The reason that was given were that chantries were
the centres of superstition
The Treason act:
Repealed Henricain treason, heresy and censorship
laws
Increased freedom for protestant activists
The immediate result was a new mass of pamphlets
14. Protestant doctrine
In November 1548 the council they felt secure to
make a more positive approach towards
Protestantism after the success in Scotland.
In order to end uncertainty over religion
The First Act of Uniformity was passed in January
1549 was created to achieve this
15. PROTESTANT PRACTICES:
The act meant that the clergy were ordered to use a
number of practices which had been allowed but not
enforced for the last two years:
Holy communion to be conducted in English
Sacraments now defined as
c0mmunion,baptism,conformation, marriage and burial.
Permission for clergy to marry
Many catholic rituals considered superstitious by
protestants disappeared
Cranmer adapted old communion service by adding new
prayers, so the clergy and the laity could take both the
bread and the wine.
16. CATHOLIC PRACTICES:
no clear statement on the view of purgatory
any worship of saints were discouraged and statues
removed
Cranmer's book of common prayer was a mixture of
Lutheran and catholic beliefs
Fast days not removed and there was no change in the
number of holy days.
Followed order of old Latin mass
No change made to the doctrine of the Eucharist,
which was still defined by the catholic terms of
transubstantiation
17. This was in order to satisfy the reformers as well as not
outraging the Catholics
There were no punishments placed on the laity if they
did no attend the new services
However fines were given to the clergy who refused to
attend or participate
Continued to educate the laity in Protestantism
Most of the country seemed to accept moderate
Protestantism however there was still objection from
areas such as Cornwall and Yorkshire.
