The Act of Uniformity was the law whereby Elizabeth I, working with Parliament, restored the Protestant Church of England after the reign of her Catholic sister Mary.
The questions to ask here are
- What sort of religion is being established?
- What distinctions are made between church and state?
- What sort of religious freedom is imagined in the document?
- What were Elizabeth's motives?
PRIMO ELIZABETHÆ.
Where at the death of our late Sovereign Lord King Edward the Sixth, there remained one uniform Order of Common Service and Prayer, and of the Administration of Sacraments, Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England, which was set forth in one Book, intituled, The Book of Common Prayer, ..... , Authorized by Act of Parliament, holden in the fifth and sixth years of our said late Sovereign Lord King Edward the Sixth, intituled, An Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments; The which was repealed, and taken away by Act of Parliament, in the first Year of the Reign of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Mary, to the great decay of the due honour of God, and discomfort to the Professors of the Truth of Christ's Religion:
Be it therefore Enacted by the Authority of this present Parliament, That the said Statute of Repeal and everything therein contained, only concerning the said Book and the Service, Administration of Sacraments, Rites, and Ceremonies contained or appointed in or by the said Book shall be void and of none effect, ....... .
And that the said Book with the Order of Service and of the Administration of Sacraments, Rites, and Ceremonies, with the Alterations and Additions, therein added and appointed by this Statute, shall stand and be ..... in full force and effect according to the tenor and effect of this Statute; Any thing in the aforesaid Statute of Repeal to the contrary notwithstanding.
And further be it Enacted by the Queen's Highness, with the assent of the Lords and Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by Authority of the same, That all and singular Ministers in any Cathedral or Parish Church or other place within this Realm of England, Wales, and the Marches of the same, or other the Queen's Dominions, shall, ..... be bounden to say and use the Matins, Evensong, Celebration of the Lord's Supper, and Administration of each of the Sacraments, and all their common and open Prayer, in such order and form as is mentioned in the said Book so Authorized by Parliament in the said fifth and sixth Years of the reign of King Edward the Sixth, with one alteration, or addition of certain Lessons to be used on every Sunday in the Year, and the Form of the Litany altered and corrected, and two Sentences only added in the delivery of the Sacrament to the Communicants, and none other or otherwise. And that if any manner of Parson, Vicar, or other whatsoever Minister that ought or should sing or say Common Prayer mentioned in the said Book, or minister the Sacraments, ... , refuse to use the said Common Prayer or to minister the Sacraments in such Cathedral or Parish-Church or other places, as he should use to minister the same, in such order and form, as they be mentioned, and set forth in the said Book, or shall willfully, or obstinately standing in the same use any other Rite, Ceremony, Order, Form, or Manner of celebrating of the Lord's Supper, openly or privily, or Matins, Evensong, Administration of the Sacraments, or other open Prayers, than is mentioned and set forth in the said Book, [open Prayer in and throughout this Act is meant that Prayer which is for others to come unto or hear, either in Common Churches or Private Chapels or Oratories, commonly called the Service of the Church] or shall preach, declare, or speak anything in the derogation or depraving of the said Book, or any thing therein contained, or of any part thereof, and shall be thereof lawfully convicted according to the laws of this Realm, by verdict of twelve men, or by his own confession, or by the notorious evidence of the fact, shall lose and forfeit to the Queen's Highness, her Heirs and Successors, for his first Offence, the profit of all his Spiritual Benefices, or Promotions, coming or arising in one whole Year next after his Conviction. And also that the Person so convicted shall for the same Offence suffer Imprisonment by the space of six Months without Bail or Mainprise. .............
And it is Ordained and Enacted by the Authority abovesaid, That if any Person or Persons whatsoever .... , shall in any Enterludes, Plays, Songs, Rhymes, or by other open Words, declare or speak anything in the derogation, depraving, or despising of the same Book or of anything therein contained or any part thereof, or shall by open fact, deed, or by open threatenings compel or cause or otherwise procure or maintain any Parson, Vicar, or other Minister, in any Cathedral or Parish-Church, or in Chapel, or in any other place, to sing or say any common and open Prayer, or to minister any Sacrament otherwise, or in any other manner and form than is mentioned in the said Book; or that by any of the said means shall unlawfully interrupt, or let any Parson, Vicar, or other Minister, in any Cathedral or Parish-Church, Chapel, or any other place to sing or say common and open Prayer, or to Minister the Sacraments, or any of them, in such manner and form, as is mentioned in the said Book; that then every such Person being thereof lawfully convicted, in form abovesaid, shall forfeit to the Queen our Sovereign Lady, her Heirs and Successors, for the first Offence an hundred Marks. And if any Person or Persons, being once convict of any such Offence, eftsoons offend against any of the last recited Offences, and shall in form aforesaid be thereof lawfully convict; ..............
And for due execution hereof, the Queen's most excellent Majesty, the Lords Temporal, and all the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, do in God's name earnestly require and charge all the Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries, that they shall endeavor themselves to the uttermost of their knowledges, that the due and true execution hereof may be had throughout their Diocese and Charges, as they will answer before God, for such evils and plagues wherewith Almighty God may justly punish his people for neglecting this good and wholesome law. And for their Authority in this behalf, be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all and singular the same Archbishops, Bishops, and other their Officers exercising Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, as well in place exempt as not exempt, within their Dioceses shall have full Power and Authority by this Act, to reform, correct and punish by Censures of the Church, all and singular Persons which shall offend within any their Jurisdictions or Dioceses, ..... , against this Act and Statute; any other Law, Statute, Privilege, Liberty, or Provision heretofore made, had or suffered to the contrary notwithstanding.
And it is Ordained and Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every Justice of Oyer and Determiner, or Justice of Assize, shall have full Power and Authority in every of their open and general Sessions to enquire, hear and determine all and all manner of Offences, that shall be committed or done contrary to any Article contained in this present Act, within the limits of the Commission to them directed, and to make Process for the execution of the same, as they may do against any Person being indicted before them of Trespass, or lawfully convicted thereof.
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© Paul Halsall, November, 2000