Presbyterians/ Reform through parliament

who were the presbyterians?

believed that the Church of England, Calvinist in its doctrine, should be further reformed in its structure & forms of worship

In the 1570s…

a small, but influential, group of Puritans (led by Thomas Cartwright) began to press for basic reforms in the government of the Church in Parliament

Thomas Cartwright & the Presbyterians believed that…

a Church founded on ‘superstitious’ or ‘Popish’ principles was spiritually flawed & that the 1559 Settlement had to be modified

Some Presbyterians began to question…

the structural basis for the authority of bishops & other aspects of the church

how were Presbyterian criticisms voiced?

in pamphlets known as the two Admonitions

who was the main author of the Admonitions?

John Field

what did the First Adomision do?

attack the Book of Common Prayer & called for the abolition of Bishops

what did the second Adomition do?

provide a detailed description of a Presbyterian system of church government

who attempted to pass reforms through parliament?

Peter Turner in 1584 & Antony Cope in 1587

what reforms were attempted to pass through parliament?

bills which would have replaced the Book of Common with a new book stripped of any ‘popish’ elements

there was a pamphlet war between…

Thomas Cartwright (a Cambridge academic & vice-chancellor of Cambridge University) & John Whitegift (Archbishop of Canterbury)

what did John Whitegift do?

issued Three Articles to which clergy had to subscribe

what were the Three Articles to which clergy had to subscribe?

acknowledgement of the royal supremacy, acceptance of the prayer book containing nothing contrary to the Word of God & acceptance of the Thirty-Nine Articles

Whitegift was forced to…

back down under pressures from councillors

how successful was Whitegift’s campaign?

successful & Cartwright was refused a licence to preach

what happened to the Bills Turner & Cope attempted to pass?

Neither bill proposed generated much support. Cope was imprisoned briefly

threat of the challenge emphasised by…

access to government attracting high ranking support

what high ranking government officials defended clergymen who held sympathy for the movement?

the Earl of Huntingdon, the Earl of Leicester & Lord  Burghley

how was Presbyterianism limited?

a geographically limited movement confined to London, Essex, the University of Cambridge, Suffolk & parts of the East Midlands

attempts to bring reform about through parliament…

failed

By late 1580s …

Presbyterianism was in decline

why was Presbyterianism in decline by 1590?

very few Puritan clergy were willing to break with the church & the movement was weakened by the death of its leader John Field