A History of the Reformation (Vol. 2 of 2)

by Thomas M. Lindsay

In the Second Prayer-Book the rubric was altered to:

“Then the minister, when he delivereth the bread, shall say:

‘Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on Him in thy heart by faith and with thanksgiving.’

And the minister that delivereth the cup shall say:

‘Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for thee, and be thankful.’”[491]

The difference represented by the change in these words is between what might be the doctrine of transubstantiation and a sacramental theory distinctly lower than that of Luther or Calvin, and which might be pure Zwinglianism.

This Second Prayer-Book of King Edward was enforced by a second Act of Uniformity, which for the first time contained penalties against laymen as well as clergymen—against “a great number of people in divers parts of the realm, who did wilfully refuse to come to their parish churches.” The penalties themselves show that many of the population refused to be dragged along the path of reformation as fast as the Council wished them to go.[492]

Soon after there followed a new creed or statement of the fundamental doctrines received by the Church of England. This was the Forty-two Articles, interesting because they formed the basis of the later Elizabethan Thirty-nine Articles. They were thrust on the Church of England in a rather disreputable way. It was expressly slated on the title-page that they had been agreed upon by the Bishops and godly divines at the last Convocation in London—a statement which is not correct. They were never presented to Convocation, and were issued on the authority of the King alone, and received his signature on June 12th (1553), scarcely a month before he died.

One other document belonging to the reign of Edward VI. must be mentioned—the Reformatio Legum Ecclesiasticarum, drafted by Cranmer. The Archbishop had begun in 1544 to collect passages from the old Canon Law which he thought might serve to regulate the government and discipline of the Church of England. A commission of thirty-two was appointed to assist him, and from these a committee of eight were selected to “rough hew the Canon Law.” When the selection was made, a Bill to legalise it was introduced into Parliament, but it failed to pass; and the Reformatio Legum never became authoritative in England. It was as well, for the book enacted death penalties for various heresies, which would have made it a cruel weapon in the hands of a persecuting government.

During the reign of Edward VI. the beginnings of that Puritanism which was so prominent in the time of Elizabeth first manifested themselves. Its two principal spokesmen were the Bishops Hooper and Ridley. Hooper was an ardent follower of Zwingli, and was esteemed to be the leader of the party; and Ridley’s sentiments were not greatly different. Hooper came into contact with the Government when he was appointed to the See of Gloucester. He then objected to the oath required from Bishops at their consecration, and to the episcopal robes, which he called “Aaronic” vestments. The details of the contest are described by a Zwinglian sympathiser, Macronius, in a letter to Bullinger at Zurich[493] (Aug. 28th, 1550):

“The King, as you know, has appointed him (Hooper) to the bishopric of Gloucester, which, however, he refused to accept unless he cd. be altogether relieved from all appearance of popish superstition. Here then a question immediately arises as to the form of oath which the Bishops have ordered to be taken in the name of God, the saints, and the Gospels; which impious oath Hooper positively refused to take. So, when he appeared before the King in the presence of the Council, Hooper convinced the King by many arguments that the oath should be taken in the name of God alone, who knoweth the heart. This took place on the 20th of July. It was so agreeable to the godly King, that with his own pen he erased the clause of the oath which sanctioned swearing by any creatures. Nothing could be more godly than this act, or more worthy of a Christian king. When this was done there remained the form of episcopal consecration, wh., as lately prescribed by the Bishops in Parliament, differs but little from the popish one. Hooper therefore obtained a letter from the King to the Archbishop of Canterbury (Cranmer), that he might be consecrated without superstition. But he gained nothing by this, as he was referred from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Bishop of London (Ridley), who refused to use any other form of consecration than that which had been subscribed by Parliament. Thus the Bishops mutually endeavour that none of their glory shall depart. A few days after, on the 30th of July, Hooper obtained leave from the King and the Council to be consecrated by the Bishop of London without any superstition. He replied that he would shortly send an answer either to the Council or to Hooper. While, therefore, Hooper was expecting the Bishop’s answer, the latter went to court and alienated the minds of the Council from Hooper, making light of the use of the vestments and the like in the church, and calling them mere matters of indifference. Many were so convinced by him that they would hardly listen to Hooper’s defence when he came into court shortly afterwards. He therefore requested them, that if they would not hear him speak, they would at least think it proper to hear and read his written apology. His request was granted: wherefore he delivered to the King’s councillors, in writing, his opinion respecting the discontinuance of the use of vestments and the like puerilities. And if the Bishop cannot satisfy the King with other reasons, Hooper will gain the victory. We are daily expecting the termination of this controversy, which is only conducted between individuals, either by conference or by letter, for fear of any tumult being excited among the ignorant. You see in what a state of affairs the Church would be if they were left to the Bishops, even to the best of them.”

In the end, Hooper allowed himself to be persuaded, and was consecrated in the usual way.

The advanced Reformers in England were probably incited to demand more freedom than the law permitted by the sight of the liberty enjoyed by men who were not Englishmen. French and German Protestants had come to England for refuge, and had been welcomed. The King had permitted them to use the Augustines’ church in London, that they might “have the pure ministry of the Word and Sacraments according to the apostolic form,” and they enjoyed their privileges.