Acts of Uniformity
Uniformity, Acts of, 1549, 1552, 1559, 1662. By enforcing the use of successive Prayer Books, the Acts provided liturgical conformity in Books of Common Prayer instead of the diverse uses of Sarum, York, Bangor, and Lincoln. Constitutionally and ecclesiastically, though not liturgically, the 1549 Act was ‘a momentous moment’, because Parliament set a precedent by itself authorizing doctrine and liturgy, a royal preserve since 1534. The 1552 book marked a Zwinglian shift; the mass became the communion, tables replaced altars, the surplice replaced eucharistic vestments. The 1559 book was decidedly comprehensive. Catholic elements were added to the 1552 book and vestments were to be as in 1548. The 1661 Prayer Book (authorized 1662) roughly followed 1559, and was uniformly used until the 20th cent. Two thousand clerics left the Church of England in protest, giving a powerful boost to dissent.
