SAVOY CONFERENCE, the name given to an ecclesiastical conference held in 1661 at the Savoy palace (so called because built in 1245 by Peter, earl of Savoy and Richmond [see AMADEUS]; burned by Wat Tyler in 1381, it was rebuilt and endowed in 1505 as an hospital for poor persons) between the Episcopalian and Presbyterian divines, whit. the view of ascertaining what concessions would satisfy the latter, and thereby lead to "a perfect and entire unity and uniformity throughout the nation." During the rule of the protector Cromwell the church of England had been in a very anomalous condition. Most of the clergy who held office during the early period of the civil wars were strop;; royalists, and either were ejected or fled when the cause of the parliament triumphed. Their places had been supplied in many cases by zealous Presbyterians—a rather numer ous body in England at that time, and thus it happened at the restoration of Charles II. that a considerable section of the ministers within the church were hostile to the reintro duction of Episcopalian order and practice. Aware of this feeling, yet desirous of not adopting severe measures, if such could possibly be avoided, the king issued letters patent dated Mar. 25, appointing twelvesbishops, with nine clergymen as assistants on the side of the Episcopal church, with an equal number of Presbyterian divines, " to advise upon and review the Book of Common Prayer." Among the Episcopalian commission ers were Frewen, archbishop of York, Sheldon, bishop of London, Gauden of Exeter, Reynolds of Norwich, etc.: among their assistants, Dr. Peter Heylin, Dr. John Pearson, and Dr. Thomas Pierce. The most notable representatives of the Presbyterian party were Richard Baxter,• Dr. John Wallis (then Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford),
Edmund Calamy, William and Matthew Newcomen. The conference (which lasted four months) was opened on April 13. The Presbyterians (according to Burnett) demanded that archbishop Uslicr's .scheme of a " reduced Episcopacy," in which the elements of the Scotch system of presbyteries, synods, and general assemblies were com bined with distinctions of ecclesiastical ranks, should be made the basis to begin with; that responses should be given up; that the prayers in the litany should be combined into one; that no lessons should be tak^n out of the Apocrypha; that the psalms read in the daily service should be according to the new translation; that the term regenera tion (among others) should be struck out of the baptismal service; and that the use of the surplice, of the cross in baptism, of godfathers as sponsors, and of the holy days, should be abolished. They were told in reply that the commission had no authority to discuss questions affecting the government of the church, such as were contained in archbishop Usher's scheme; whereupon they proceeded to consider the minor points, such as the alterations of the liturgy. Baxter, with the consent of his party, drew up a " reformed liturgy" which the Episcopalian commissioners would not look at, consider ing the wholesale rejection of the older oneuttrarires on their part. Finally, the parties separated without arriving at any conclusion; and this fruitless attempt at " comprehen sion" was followed in 1662 by the famous " act of uniformity," the result of which was that 2,000 clergymen were forced to abandon their livings in the church of England.