The course of legislation throughout the whole of Elizabeth's reign was de signed to enforce religious uniformity, and it was consistent with this idea to punish nonconformity with various pains and penalties. These are specifically no ticed under NONCONFORMISTS and ROMAN' CATHOLICS. The same policy was pur sued in the succeeding reign. Penal enactments were multiplied ; but they only hastened a crisis in which the fabric and polity of the Established Church were overthrown.
The disputes between King Charles I. and the parliament, which resulted in a civil war, brought on the overthrow of the Established Church, which occurred several years before Charles was be headed, A.D. 1649. The Court of High Commission was abolished by statute (16 Car. I. c. 11), A.D. 1641. In 1642 bishops were deprived of their seats in parliament, and their lands were subsequently seized for the expenses of the civil war. Par liament passed numerous ordinances by which many hundreds of clergymen were turned out of their livings. The cathedral service was everywhere put down, and the clergy were left to read the Liturgy or not, as they pleased, and to take their own way in other things. Marriage was made a civil rite, and was performed by justices of the peace. In 1643 the Assem bly of Divines was called together by an order of the two Houses of Parliament, to give their advice respecting a new sys tem of ecclesiastical polity. [Wserrus STER ASSEMBLY OF The majority of the assembly were resby terians ; and, in place of the suppressed Liturgy, they formed a Directory of Pub lic Worship, which was established by an ordinance of the parliament on the 3rd of February, 1645. The assembly also laid down a Confession of Faith, which comprehended a Presbyterian form of ecclesiastical polity, and was at once received by the Scottish Church ; but it was never distinctly sanctioned by the English legislature. On the 6th of June, 1546, an act was passed which partially established the Presbyterian form of church government in England ; but :his was confessedly done by way of ex periment, as the preamble of the act ex pressly declares, "that if upon trial it not found acceptable it should be reversed or amended ;" and to this law a further effect was afterwards given by several additional ordinances of the House of Commons ; till at last, in 1649, it was declared, without qualification, by the House, that Presbyterianism should be the established religion. The Presbyterian form of church government, however, never obtained more than a limited and imperfect establishment. The clergy were not exclusively Presbyterians: some benefices were retained by their old Epis copalian incumbents ; a few were held by Independents ; and some by persons be longing to the minor sects, which in creased so abundantly at this time. At last, in March, 1653, Cromwell, by an •brainance of council, appointed a Board of Triers, as they were termed, in all thirty-eight in number, of whom part were Presbyterians, part Independents, and a few Baptists, to which was given, without any instructions or limitations whatever, the power of examining, ap proving, or rejecting all persons that might thereafter be presented, nominated.
chosen, or appointed to any living in the church. This was tantamount to dividing the church livings amongst these differ ent religious bodies ; but the measure was designed by Cromwell to restrain the excessive liberty that had previously existed, when any one who chose might set up as a preacher, and so give himself a chance of obtaining a living in the church. The Board of Triers continued to sit and to exercise its functions at Whitehall, till a short time after the death of Cromwell.
As soon as the Restoration of Charles H. was effected in 1660, the work of re constructing the Established Church was commenced. The convention parliament passed an act (12 Car. H. a. 17) " for the confirming and restoring of ministers ;" and the next parliament, which met in May, 1661, repealed the act which dis abled persons in holy orders from ex ercising any temporal jurisdiction or authority, the effect of which was to restore the bishops to their seats in the Upper House.
The Book of Common Pre rer, which had been revised by a commission ap pointed by Charles II. after his restoration, was unanimously adopted by both houses of convocation, and having been approved of by the king, was transmitted to the House of Peers on the 24th of February, 1662, with a message from his majesty, recommending that the book so altered should be that " which in and by the in tended Act of Uniformity shall be ap pointed to be used by all that officiate in all cathedrals and collegiate churches and chapels, and in all parish churches of England and Wales, under such sanc tions and penalties as the parliament shall think fit.' The act here alluded to re ceived the royal assent on the 19th of May (14 Car. II. c. 4), and was entitled " An Act for the Uniformity of Public Prayers and Administratior of Sacra ments, and other Rites and Ceremonies, and for establishing the form of making, ordaining, and consecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, in the Church of England." It provided that all ministers should henceforth use the amended Book of Common Prayer, and that all persons who enjoyed any ecclesiastical benefice or promotion should publicly declare their assent to the use of the same, and their approval of everything contained in it : and, besides the oath of canonical obedience, the terms of conformity were now made to include the abjuration both of the solemn league and covenant, and of the lawfulness of taking up arms against the king, or any commissioned by hum, on any pretence whatsoever.