By Katie Clayton

Edwardian Church Under Somerset1547-1549

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

Attitudes towards reform Immediate government circleSomerset: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.

Bishops:There was little agreement amongst the bishopsThe 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

This meant that both the privy council and Somerset had to act cautiously when reforming the church in order to prevent a revolt

Outside the immediate government circleMost of the ruling elites did not oppose some measure of

religious reformThe 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.

Exceptions:In east Anglia consisted mostly of Protestant refugees

and therefore there was lots of support for the reformsIn the larger towns of London where the clergy were

educated, there were vocal minorities who demanded religious change at a rapid pace.

Why the privy council introduced such moderate reformPrompted 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

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

Radical reformsThe 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

ProblemsThe 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

The Chantries act:This was to raise money in order to continue the war

with France and ScotlandThe reason that was given were that chantries were

the centres of superstition The Treason act:Repealed Henricain treason, heresy and censorship

lawsIncreased freedom for protestant activistsThe immediate result was a new mass of pamphlets

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 religionThe First Act of Uniformity was passed in January

1549 was created to achieve this

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 EnglishSacraments now defined as

c0mmunion,baptism,conformation, marriage and burial.Permission for clergy to marryMany 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.

CATHOLIC PRACTICES:no clear statement on the view of purgatoryany worship of saints were discouraged and statues

removedCranmer's book of common prayer was a mixture of

Lutheran and catholic beliefsFast days not removed and there was no change in the

number of holy days.Followed order of old Latin massNo change made to the doctrine of the Eucharist,

which was still defined by the catholic terms of transubstantiation

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.

Summary diagram

You tube clipEdward VI and Religion