How effectively did the Church of England evolve in conditions of conflict and Revolution?
Lauds policies and religious uniformity 1625-40
Parliaments re-ordering of the Church 1640 to 60
the restoration of Anglicanism in 1660-62 and its dominant position in religious life
the dominance of Anglicanism
although the Royal approval that such elites required was not continuous during Charles II's reign political necessity ensured that he would eventually comply. in 1662 Charles attempted to suspend the Act of Uniformity and issue a First Declaration of Indulgence offering religious toleration for all, this was defeated by a combination of bishop's and Cavaliers in Parliament and he was powerless to prevent the persecution that followed.
The Clarendon Code(Four acts designed to restrict non-conformist and end toleration passed by the Cavalier Parliament under the Earl of Clarendon to protect CofE) was also part of the Anglican Alliance. 1672 Second Declaration of Indulgence issued by Charles followed by a Test Act that increase the requirement for conformity and led to the future James II having to reign from his post as Lord High Admiral.
the Anglican Church was socially dominant and politically significant after the restoration.The Corporation act 1661 have laid down the climate of conformity (those that hold any position in local gov had to take local communion) - later extended to cover range of institutions e.g Universities. The social,intellectual and political elite were mainly Anglican.
when Charles appointed Thomas Osborne (Earl of Danby) as Lord Treasurer in 1673, He allowed him to renew persecutions of Protestant dissenters and exercise royal social and political patronage to build up majorities in both Houses of of Parliament. this strengthening of Royal and Anglican soon became known as 'Tory' policies.
Radicalism and reaction during the Civil War
the Rump and the Radicals
The rejection of Arminianism in the Long Parliament 1640-43
the Protectorate
the emergence of the Armnians
the early Arminian challenge
the Laudian reforms 1628-40
The Restoration Church
after the problems posed by the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis 1678-82 , Charles returned to this strategy with a vengeance, embarking on what was probably the harshest period of persecution in the entire reign for Protestant dissenters , combined with the remodelling of borough charters to ensure Tory and Anglican control.
in 1688, Anglican supremacy was demonstrated in the trial of Seven Bishops who opposed James II's Second Declaration of Indulgence, which offered toleration to both non-conformists and Catholics. they were firm supporters of Anglicanism so were not found guilty.
by 1685 the Anglican establishment was truly the 'Church of England' but still didn't achieve the level of Uniformity wanted by the leaders and required for a confessional state.
under Charles II, the Convention Parliament of 1660 restart this the Church of England and restored the Bishops in the Worcester House Declaration leaving the details to be worked out by the Savoy House conference in 1661. Both MP's and many of the ministers wanted to the differences among them to present and create a board and flexible national Church and the King supported this.
two events later soured this atmosphere and prevented this hopes from coming true in the winter of 1660-61
after the collapse of Cromwell's republican regime in 1660, one of the indications of the growing royalist reaction was another Quaker scare.
for example the Presbyterian Richard Baxter was offered an appointment as a bishop (as did a number of moderate Anglicans now known as Latitudinarians) because of that support for allowing different ideals / latitude(width) in defining acceptable beliefs.
The second was the election in the aftermath of the rebellion of a conservative Parliament of Cavaliers who were bent on revenge. for the Puritans and Moderates at the Savoy this was a disaster
the first was an ill-conceived and ineffectual rising in London organised by the Fifth Monarchist Thomas Venner. gave new life to an old fear about religious radical. Although the Fifth monarchists had been active since 1649 they believe that the second coming of Jesus would take place in 1666.
Along side the moderates, the Anglican representatives included significant number of Arminian thinkers including the bishop of London ,Gilbert Sheldon. With the backing of parliament and Bishops in the Lords, Sheldon was determined to establish strict uniformity on the model favoured by lord and drive out of the church anyone who could not conform to it.
the moderates try to resist however as the Presbyterian often argued over non-essential details it played into Sheldon's supporters hands. in May 1661 the conference ended without agreement leaving the decision about the nature of belief, role of the Prayer Book and the requirements demanded from the clergy in the hand of the High Church Arminians and anti-puritan Parliament. This led to the Act of Uniformity in 1662 that imposed formality, rituals, priestly robes and episcopal control resulting in the restriction of non-conformists from church appointments and drove 1800 ministers from the livings. In 1663 Sheldon was promoted to the post of Archbishop of Canterbury (head of Church)
the nature of the Post restoration church was shaped by the Act of Uniformity and the anti-Puritan attitudes that were responsible for it. This could be seen when Puritan ministry were ejected and replaced with Angelican ministry the opposite of what happened in the 1640s. the Bishops appointed in 1660 have begun to ordain(make someone a priest or minister) new ministers and recreate the machinery of the Church Courts
those who would survive in the living when now faced with three requirements that were designed to make their continued service impossible
if they have not been ordained by a bishop they had to accept re-ordination. not only did this emphasise the status and power of the Bishops it also suggested that the previous ministry was invalid.
they had to renounce the Presbyterian Convent to which many have sworn an oath of loyalty to.
they had to accept every element of the Prayer Book.
according to the historian Mark Goldie in 1662 the app with the way of achieving retribution against the Puritans and it drove many people from the church who wished to stay within it. for those who made it in, it was a decoration and defence of the Anglican Faith developed by Laud, a balanced and ordered church Midway between the corruption of Capitalism and the anarchy of Puritanism.Also a political act motivated by the dislike of dissent and a conviction that the right form of governance in church and state was based on a firm alliance between Church and King.
among these were a number of Baptist churches in Holland( first to practise adult baptism).Which later came to influence English refugees who fled from James's drive for conformity between 1603 and 1610 and led to the founding of the English baptists when some returned to England and in 1612.
English Armenians = anti-Calvinist, attack on Calvinist practice went beyond the issues of predestination and free will. by the early 1620s there was clearly an anti-Calvinist reaction on a number of issues, even from King James who was annoyed by the strong anti-catholic reaction of many of the Calvinists in and out of Parliament to be an irritating restriction on his pursuit of national policies at home and Abroad.
Anti-Catholic feeling well established due to France and Spain (rivals) being ruled by Catholic monarchies
the church of England that Charles I inherited was an effective means of limiting religious conflict and ensuring respect for the royal authority. the weather there was already signs of changing in 1625 most notably the growth of an Armenian theology among groups of clergy. their name deprived from the Dutch theology Jacob Arminius who challenged the Calvinist doctrine of predestination.
Protestants saw Catholic Church as a force of evil which had corrupted the early Christian church and destroyed the essential doctrine of salvation by faith alone. Arminius agreed the Church of Rome was mistaken and misguided rather than evil
English Arminians built on the claim that the Anglican church had found the correct balance in stripping out the more superstitious and misleading elements to restore the purity of the early faith, while retaining enough ceremony an hierarchy to ensure order and respect. They agreed churches should be decorated with colour,statues and ornate carvings of the early church, that the clergy should wear robes and symbols of their office to ensure respect and that the laity(non-clergy) should be denied access to certain areas.
the move to elevate the clergy to special status challenged the accepted protestant belief that all men were spiritually equal before God. Also created fears of a desire to restore the clergy's role and authority as dispensers of God's grace, able to command obedience. Combined with an an emphasis on the role and power of Bishops in governing both church and state the theological of the English Arminians was offensive to the Puritans and many others in two ways.
the first public expression of Arminian ideas came in 1624 when Richard Montagu published an attack on Calvinist doctrine entitled on A New Gag for an old Goose- complaints made about him made to Parliament in 1625- King Charles took him under his personal protection with a place at court. this indicated a clear shift in atmosphere and arrangements at court had changed since the death of James with a new emphasis on order and formality. This drift in policy can be seen in the appointment of the succession of Arminian clergy to the role of royal Chaplain as well as a conference in 1626 being help at York house a high-profile Arminian called Duke of Buckingham resulting in a debate between the Armenians and their opposition.
all resulted in no change policy on Charles Part. having dissolved the Parliament of 1626,Charles issued a proclamation that forbade the public discussion of sensitive religious doctrine, an action widely interpreted as a restriction on preaching that would affect Calvinists and other Protestants far more than The Armenians who favoured formal prayer and ritualised responses. The Archbishop of Canterbury(George Abbot) was briefly suspended in 1627 for refusing to grant an Arminian sermon and William Laud , the Arminian leader was appointed in the privy council a year later when he became Bishop of London the largest Diocese(district under the supervision of the Bishop) in the country.
threatened the rights of the individual to have a direct relationship with God.
reeked of catholicism
when Cromwell took power after the dissolution of the Rump and the failure of the Barebones Parliament had three main aims
Although Laud's influence was increasing from 1626, it was when he became Archbishop of Canterbury the most important clergyman in the Church of England in 1633 that his programme began to take effect. New institutions were were to be enforced by the local bishop in every diocese. They focused on the decoration of churches and the conformity of the clergy but, by implication they also affected the role and status of bishops.
Dissenting ministers were summoned before the Church Courts but could also be punished by Star Chamber an example of this is John Bastwick who published a satirical Litany the criticised Laud and others.
Among the Laity, it was changes in decoration and layout of the churches that seem to have made the most impact , in part because of they were visible but also for their significance.
the situation was exacerbated by the existence and behaviour of an actively catholic Queen, the appointment of Catholics to important offices in government and a background of catholic aggression in Europe. Neither Charles or Laud were Catholic in belief but the changes they were making in the Church in the 1630s raised fears that they might be. they were making the CofE a institution were Catholics could find a place and work towards further change.
the fears of a proto-catholic conspiracy was promoted by these events and expressed by the fears of Parliament before it was dissolved in 1629 were an overreaction on the part of puritan MPs,Clergy and their supporters. Given Charles' personality, love of order and interest in arts his natural companions =Arminians. Arminians= respect for hierarchy and dislike for puritans attitudes= support for royal authority was inevitable
it was a sign neither Charles nor Laud understood those fears that they now embarked on a programme of reform in the church that would alienate a large section of the population.
Fonts were decorated
Statues and Colour returned to the Churches
Organs were installed to the dismay of puritans who believed music distracted the congregation from prayer to Bible study.
the most objectionable change for Puritans was the removal of communion table from the centre of the congregation to the east side of the church, where the Roman Catholic altar had always stood.protected by a rood screen and often richly ornamented, it symbolised the growing differentiation of clergy from laity. it also shifted the emphasis of the communion service,from an act of remembrance of Christ's sacrifice towards the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation in which the bread and wine was changed into the actual blood and body of christ.
the changes offended the sensibilities of many protestants, not only just those of Puritan persuasion
opposition found it's voice in the 1640 Parliament, the most serious attacks were directed at the Laudian Bishops, complaints =religious and political character. to some extent Bishops paid a price for their role as enforcers, but there were also complaints of their arrogance,pretentious lifestyles and willingness to impose our views, some wood erected at the activities of the government rather than in church.many bishops were from humble backgrounds and were dependent on royalty for their advancement.
if placed in the role of privy Council( like Laud or Lord treasurer like Bishop William Juxton )they deprived nobility and gentry of their key role as well as the fact they could be relied upon to obey the King's wishes regardless of the impact on others. others also drew comparison to Laudian Bishops and earlier churchman politicians. Laud's career and the opposition that it evoked represents be intertwining of religion and politics in 17th century England.
1640- opposition in Parliament able to launch attack on Bishops and on the wider Arminian influence with support from the House of Commons.measures = both political and religious (blurred lines between politics and religion)
many of these complaints were supported by Anglicans such as Edward Hyde(future royalist). he refers to honourable man being brought before the Court of High Commission and subjected to punishment for their beliefs.however for some it was a moral conduct issue which may indicate a concern for their status and privacy.
significant doubt about whether Parliament's actions had a significant impact on daily religious life before the civil war. likely that many parishes were able to revert to old habitats and reverse unpopular changes.
they abolished the prerogative courts - that centred on the nature of law however also removed some of the most repressive apparatus used to control the church and abilities of individuals to discuss it. the strength of the discontent created by these reforms were seen in the struggle over bishops.
December 1640 commons received a root and branch petition( a petition signed by 15,000 and attempt to remove the rule of bishops in the church as it was seen as the root of the church's problems) supported by many in the city of London, listen many grievances including the treatment of the clergy, restriction on preaching and the encouragement of Arminian and Catholic ideas. Wanted abolition of episcopacy (government of a church by Bishops). No Surprise as London and south east = puritan strongholds. Scotland 1638 ended Episcopacy.
greater religious significance was the signing of the Covenant with the Scots in 1643 in an attempt to establish the Presbyterian form of organisation. Perhaps an indication of limited support for such changes was that Pym agreed to only set up an assembly of Clergy to meet in Westminster to draw up a model to be established rather than accept and implement the Scottish version.
the leaders of the opposition in the Commons(Puritans stronghold) were able to draw on widespread support to force the king to support to force the king to remove the bishops from the Privy Council and to pass a bill in the Commons to exclude from the House of Lords. attempt to abolish episcopacy failed.
the Covenant worked well as a delaying tactic. Assembly met in 1644 but not until 1645 that Parliament officially resolved that the government of the Church should be Presbyterian in for. in 1646,Parliament passed resolutions confirming the collapse of episcopacy and the commitment to the form of Presbyterianism. before Presbyterianism could be imposed effectively however the attention of Parliament was distracted by the the growing quarrel between Presbyterians leaders in Parliament and in the City of London and those labelled Independent (who supported the rights of those to set up their own independent churches. the Latter was led by a small number of ministers in the Assembly, supported by a minority of MP's and key members of Parliament's New Model Army (NMA).
1650- the emergence of Radicals ideas that provoked a conservative reaction that was intense and widespread.Complaints about radical groups led to the rump passing a harsh Blasphemy Act under which radical religious activity could be subjected to severe penalties.
the the more extreme groups were often short-lived and prone to internal dissent and dying out with the death or imprisonment of the Leaders who created them, the exception was the Quaker movement which spread rapidly in the North in 1650-52 under the leadership of George Fox and sent up preachers to convert other areas in 1654.
no reason for the ministers who met in the Westminster Assembly in early 1644 to suppose that they would have difficulty in agreeing a scheme of Presbyterian organising and achieving their hopes of a a godly church and society. the vast majority of Puritans Clergy and laity, were essentially Conservative supporters of a national Church as a means of promoting their faith and ensuring social control, many shocked by presenting Apologetical Narration on 3rd January 1644, put together by 5 of their numbers, which appealed for the right to establish independent Churches outside the national establishment.This was not designed to prevent such as establishment being created, nor was it an appeal for religious toleration however it was a precedent and open their way to other such developments and was rejected. neither the minsters or their demands went away.
the Complaints by Presbyterian ministers (Richard Baxter) about the radicalism of the army were often exaggerated but not without some truth. Army = breading ground for radical ideas- easy to organise groups among men who were brought together to live in close proximity and shared danger. separated from wider society and influences that maintained social control they would develop loyalty with their comrades (many from areas such as East Anglia and Lancashire,which has strongly protestant traditions and history of radical protests) also applied to their officers as without support their meetings couldn't take place.
among the volunteers who had committed themselves to parliament's(and God's) cause were a number of Preaches who had been active in the small and secretive meetings held by groups of religious enthusiasts outside the normal services of Church. with experience of religious leadership, they would naturally set up if the an ordained minister wasn't available. the NMA was particularly dangerous to the Presbyterian plans for a new disciplined church in 1645 was its mobility. As the Army moved across the country after the battle of Naseby to mop up the remaining royalist forces, its presence stimulated or emboldened religious groups and encouraged further conversions. in some cases a Army Chaplain created a new congregation but in most it was about strengthening the resolve of those who may be in hiding. the reaction of the Presbyterian leaders in Parliament and the Church was both hostile and ultimately counter-productive.
attempts to disband the army in 1647 led directly to its politicisation and the collapse of Presbyterian hopes. despite the demand in every set of peace proposal (except ones made by the Army) for a Presbyterian Church., it was unlikely the king would agree to this. The sight of his enemies falling out strengthened his resolve and led to him starting the second civil war in 1648 that later lead to Pride's Purge and Charles execution. hopes for Presbyterians disappeared. the execution of the king sparked a new wave of radical ideas and groups. these groups were far more radical than the Independents and Baptists in rejecting any external authority over the conscience over individuals and demanded complete religious toleration.
when the fighting in Ireland and Scotland seized many of the Soldiers Returned to their civilian lives and the more extreme of those who remained were subjected to discipline or forced to resign in a series of purges carried out by the Council of Officers.
however many of the army leaders army and independence in the rump sympathised with the desire of the godly for toleration for their own churches but they were far too conventional and far to wear of the dangers that they posed to tolerate planes to complete freedom. Independent Minister's such as John Goodwin and Philip Nye who had helped to write the Apologetical narration were determined to maintain the right of their congregations to govern themselves they also stressed that on everything except church government they shared the Views and habits of the Presbyterian majority.A wide spread Desire for a restoration of religious and social discipline demonstrated across the country and especially in the city of the London since the end of the war was only increased by the shock of regicide and upheavals that followed.
Cromwell wanted a sensible compromise.the church continue to function during the years of the Commonwealth using a various amount of practices based on the prevalence of individual ministers and their communities.those who meet outside the church were largely left in Peace as long as they were discreet. church place to under control by two committees of ministers the Tries and Ejectors (their role was to ensure that the minister's who served it will competent, well-educated and capable of preaching the word of god)
Presbyterian and moderate Anglican ministers found employment while a number of Independents served as parish ministers also meeting that own church members in separate places. these groups often ignored parish boundaries and drew their members from a wide area. This meant the Calvinist Sect were able to meet and worship outside the church with relative impunity. those who posed a greater danger the regime or sought to disrupt Society were at risk but Cromwell didn't like persecution, believing that all people were entitled to find that one way to God as long as they did not cause harm to others.
in 1656-57 it was Cromwell who objected to the treatment of the Quaker James Nayler imposed by the political nation in Parliament. the name of cases significant for the attitude that it revealed. James Nayler was sent by Fox to convert the South and gathered a Quaker meeting near Bristol.Although the Quakers had already adopted their pacifist ideas and placed great emphasis on personal morality, the early leaders often intensely excitable in their styles of preaching and more inclined to extravagant gestures including appearing naked to to demonstrate the purity of mind. in one gesture Nayler rode into Bristol on a donkey on Palm Sunday 1656 accompanied by female Quakers who stewed branches and flowers in his path in a reenactment of Christ entry into Jerusalem. Nayler was accused of blasphemy and some MPs called for him to be executed.
to help build a godly society
to encourage a 'reformation of manners' ensuring that people adhered to the word of God and lived morally virtuous lives.
to reform government
Catholic and Armenian churches did impose a threat as they often tried to force their views on others however individuals who utilise traditional forms could often continue in their own way as long as they were discreet. Quakers for subject to persecution when they tried to spread their views but in remote areas the meetings are often left in peace.
at this point Cromwell interviewed and challenge Parliament right to inflict such severe punishment but was unable to prevent him being publicly flogged, bored through the tongue and imprisoned.Cromwell saw him as foolish rather than Evil .The attitude of MPs reflected a widespread fear especially among the elites that such unconventional behaviour threatened the moral and social discipline upon which good order depended.