Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Acte for the Uniformitie of Common Prayoure and Dyvyne Service in the Churche, and the Administration of the Sacramentes. [b] |
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Citation | 1 Eliz. 1. c. 2 |
Territorial extent | England and Wales |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 8 May 1559 |
Commencement | 24 June 1559 [c] [1] |
Repealed | 1 September 1975 [2] |
Other legislation | |
Amends | First Statute of Repeal |
Amended by | |
Repealed by | Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974 |
Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The Act of Uniformity 1558 [a] (1 Eliz. 1. c. 2) was an act of the Parliament of England, passed in 1559, [d] to regularise prayer, divine worship and the administration of the sacraments in the Church of England. In so doing, it mandated worship according to the attached 1559 Book of Common Prayer. The act was part of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement in England instituted by Elizabeth I, who wanted to unify the church and abolish the influence of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Other acts concerned with this settlement were the Act of Supremacy 1558 (1 Eliz. 1. c. 1) and the Thirty-Nine Articles.
Elizabeth was trying to achieve a settlement after 30 years of turmoil during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I, during which England had swung from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism and back to Catholicism. Though reformers had rejoiced with the accession of Elizabeth to the throne, they found that Catholicism was more deeply rooted in England than what they had thought. The bishops issued in February 1559 a document affirming the belief in the Real Presence, Transubstantiation, the sacrificial and sacramental character of the Mass and papal supremacy. Therefore, the reform would need to be pushed through by the parliament. [4] Parliamentary sessions on discussion of the act began on 23 January 1559.
The act was clearly Protestant in its nature and repealed all legislation of Mary. The outcome of the Elizabethan Settlement was a sometimes tense and often fragile union of High Church and Low Church elements within the Church of England and Anglicanism worldwide. Though it was less radical than the act of 1552 and made some minor concessions to Catholics in hope they would comply with the new order. [1] The vote in parliament was passed by only three votes: the creation of the new Church of England was therefore dependent on a slim majority in parliament and against the will of the bishops. [4] Though most protestants accepted this compromise, some were disappointed which led to the rise of a "Puritan" party that made the case for more thorough and consistent Reformation. [1] These Protestants were against the inclusion of saints' feast days in the Church calendar, against the "cult of Elizabeth" that developed at the court and the use of crosses, vestments, holy water and blessings. [4]
The act replaced the Latin Mass with the Communion Service and set the order of prayer to be used in the 1559 Book of Common Prayer. [4] All persons had to attend Anglican services once a week or be fined 12 pence (equal to about three days wages or around £24 today). [e]
On 27 September 1650, the act was repealed by the Rump Parliament of the Commonwealth of England with the "Act for the Repeal of several Clauses in Statutes imposing Penalties for not coming to Church", [6] but this act was rendered null and void with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
Section 7 of the act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125)
Section three, from "it is" to first "abovesayd"; five, from "it is" to "aforesaid that", section six, section nine, section ten, section eleven, from "and be yt (or it)" to first "aforesaid", section eight, section fourteen, from "be it (or yt)" to "aforesaid that" and in sections twelve and thirteen, the words "and bee it enacted", were repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 3).
The whole act, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 6(3) of, and schedule 2 to, the Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974 (1974, No. 3).