The Church, the Falling Away, and the Restoration

by J. W. Shepherd

Parliament sundered the connection between England and Rome, and passed an act declaring that the king was “their singular protector and only supreme lord, and, as far as that is permitted by the law of Christ, the Supreme Head of the Church and of clergy.” The king’s desire was to destroy the influence of the pope over the Church of England, to which, in other respects, he wished to preserve the continuity of its Catholic character; but it was impossible, however, for the Church of England to maintain exactly the same place which it had occupied. There was too much stirring of reformation life in the land. “The cloisters were subjected to visitation in 1535, and totally abolished in 1536; and the Bible was diffused in English in 1538 as the only source of doctrine; but the statute of 1530 imposed distinct limits upon the Reformation, and in particular confirmed transubstantiation, priestly celibacy, masses for the dead, and auricular confession.”

When Henry died in 1547 the English Church was Roman in appearance. Excepting the litany in English, he left the ritual very much as he found it, as he did nearly the whole framework of religious belief. He was, however, the instrument whereby three great barriers to improvement—the papacy, monasticism, and Biblical ignorance—were broken down. The course of national events during Henry’s latter years prepared the country for that reformation which it subsequently embraced.

A remarkable thing connected with the issuing of the Bible, in English, is that Tyndale’s New Testament, which had been publicly condemned in England at the council called by his majesty in May, 1530, and copies of it had been burned in St. Paul’s churchyard, while Tyndale himself had been tracked like a wild beast by the emissaries of the English Government in the Netherlands, was published in 1538, by the king’s command, to be “sold and read by every person without danger of any act, proclamation, or ordinance heretofore granted to the contrary.” Copies of it were placed in the churches for the people to read, and portions of it were read from the pulpit every Sunday.

When Henry died the situation was difficult for those who came after him. A religious revolution had been half accomplished; a social revolution was in progress, creating popular ferment; evicted tenants and uncloistered monks formed raw material for revolt; the treasury was empty, the kingdom in debt, and the coinage debased.

CHANGES MADE BY EDWARD VI.

Edward VI, “a child in years, but, mature in wisdom, intelligence and virtue,” was crowned king, February 20, 1547. He collected learned men around him from every quarter, and ordered the kingdom to be purged entirely of popish fictions, and a better religion to be publicly taught. On July 31st the council began the changes. A series of injunctions was issued to the clergy, ordering them to preach against “the bishops of Rome’s usurped power and jurisdiction; to see that all images which had been objects of pilgrimages should be destroyed; to read the Gospel and Epistles in English during the service, and to see that the litany was no longer recited or sung in processions, but said devoutly kneeling.” The council were evidently anxious that the whole service should be conducted in English, and that a sermon should always be a part of the service.

The first Parliament of Edward VI made great changes in the laws of England affecting treason, which had the effect of sweeping away the edifice of absolute government which had been so carefully erected by Henry VIII. The kingly supremacy in matters of religion was maintained, but all heresy acts were repealed, giving the people an unwonted amount of freedom. An act was passed ordaining that “the most blessed sacrament be hereafter commonly administered unto the people ... under both kinds, that is to say, of bread and wine, except necessity otherwise require.” An act was also passed permitting the marriage of the clergy. The next important addition to the progress of the Reformation was the preparation of a Service Book, commonly called “The First Prayer-Book of King Edward VI.” It was introduced by an “Act of Uniformity,” which, after relating how there had been for a long time in England “divers forms of common prayer ... and that diversity of use caused many inconveniences,” ordains the universal use of this one form, and enacts penalties on those who make use of any other.

The changes made in the laws of England—the repeal of the “bloody statute” and of the treason laws—induced many of the English refugees who had gone to Germany and Switzerland to return to their native land. These, with other learned Protestants, who were invited to come to England, were appointed as teachers in the English universities. Thus the “New Learning” made great strides, leavening all the more cultured classes, leading to the discredit of the old theology, and gave a strong impulse to the Reformation movement. The feeling of the populace changed rapidly, for instead of resenting the destruction of images, they were rather inspired by too much iconoclastic zeal.

In 1552, the “Second Prayer-Book of King Edward VI.” was issued. which was enforced by the second “Act of Uniformity,” containing penalties against laymen as well as clergymen—against “a great number of people in divers parts of the realm, who did willfully refuse to come to their parish churches.” Soon after there followed a new creed or statement of the fundamental doctrines received by the Church of England. This is interesting because they form the basis of the “Thirty-nine Articles,” the creed of the Anglican Church of today.

It was during the reign of Edward VI that Puritanism, which became so prominent in the time of Elizabeth, first manifested itself. Its two principal spokesmen were Bishops Hooper and Ridley. Hooper was an ardent follower of Zwingli, and was esteemed to be the leader of the party. While the Reformation was being pushed forward at a speed too great for the majority of the people, Edward died (July 6, 1553), and the collapse of the Reformation afterwards showed the uncertainty of the foundation on which it had been built.