Act of Uniformity
Oxford Dictionary of British History:
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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.
Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
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Act of Uniformity
in British history, any of four acts (especially that of 1662) establishing the foundations of the English Protestant Church and securing uniformity in public worship and use of a particular Book of Common Prayer. The first two Acts were passed in the reign of Edward VI but repealed under his Catholic successor Mary I ; a third was passed in the reign of Elizabeth I , and a final Act in 1662 after the Restoration.
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Act of Uniformity
Over the course of English parliamentary history there were a number of Acts of Uniformity. All had the basic object of establishing some sort of religious orthodoxy within the English church.
- The Act of Uniformity 1549 (2 & 3 Edw. 6, c. 1) which established the Book of Common Prayer as the only legal form of worship.
- The Act of Uniformity 1552 (5 & 6 Edw. 6, c. 1) required the use of the Book of Common Prayer of 1552.
- The Act of Uniformity 1559 (1 Eliz., c. 2) was adopted on the ascension of Elizabeth I. See Elizabethan Religious Settlement
- The Act of Uniformity 1662 (13 & 14 Ch. 2, c. 4) was enacted after the restoration of the monarchy. It required the use of all the rites and ceremonies in the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 in church services.
- The Act of Uniformity (Explanation) Act 1663 (15 Car 2 c 6)
(The '13&14 Ch. 2 c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter. This is the method used for Acts of Parliament from before 1962.)
See also
- Act of Supremacy
- Nonconformist
- Conformist
- Test Act
- Conventicle Act 1664
- Occasional Conformity Act 1711
- Religion in the United Kingdom
- Religious uniformity
- List of short titles
External links
- "Uniformity Acts" by Edwin Burton. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912.
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Oxford Dictionary of British History
A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. © 2006
Oxford University Press.
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