then the established religion of this country. It is well known, that the renunciation of the Pope's supremacy by Henry the Eighth paved the way for introducing the reformed doctrines and discipline into the Church of England; but that great and glorious event was accomplished by slow degrees. Our ancestors did not at once pass from the various errors in belief, and from all the superstitious practices of the Church of Rome, to that purity of faith and simplicity of worship by which the Church of England is now distinguished; and we shall find that it required the labours of the pious and learned of several successive periods to bring our Liturgy to its present state of excellence.

Though Henry himself was by no means a sincere and uniform friend to the cause of the Reformation, yet his resentment against the Roman pontiff induced him to authorise many publications, which were calculated to expose the abuses and corruptions that had so long prevailed; and the several translations of the Bible into English, mentioned in the last chapter, contributed greatly to enlighten the minds of men, and to prepare them for that important change which took place immediately after his death."

a The King's Primer; the Godly and Pious Institution of a Christian Man; a necessary Doctrine and Erudition for Christian Men, &c. &c.

It was not till after the death of Henry, that the mass ceased to

be celebrated according to the ancient method, or that the people were allowed the cup. The order of the communion was publicly set forth in March, 1548. In the May of the same year the commissioners, consisting of the Archbishop of

In the first years of Edward the Sixth, who was firmly attached to the principles of the reformed religion in which he had been educated, the king and his council nominated Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Ridley, afterwards Bishop of London, and other eminent divines, to draw up a Liturgy in the English language for the general use of the Church, free from those unfounded doctrines and superstitious ceremonies which had disgraced the Latin Liturgies. These commissioners entered upon the work with the greatest alacrity and zeal; and when they had finished it, Cranmer presented it to the young king, and in the end of the year 1548 it was ratified by parliament, under the title of "The Book of Common Prayer and Adminis

Canterbury, "with other learned and discreet bishops and divines," met at Windsor, and having compiled a Book of Common Prayer, obtained for it the approval both of the convocation and the parliament. It is a matter of great doubt whether the foreign divines did really exercise much influence in the matter. "It does not appear," says Dr. Cardwell, "however anxious he was to offer his assistance, that the peculiar opinions of Calvin were approved, or his advice either sought or rejected, by the primate and the other commissioners; and it is clear, on examination, that the faults discovered by Martyr and Bucer, of which they drew up a report at the request of Cranmer, were neither all that were admitted to exist by English divines, nor were themselves corrected, in most instances, in the way that Martyr and Bucer recommended. On the contrary,

it was stated to Martyr, when he gave in the account of his objections, that the bishops had already agreed on many alterations; and the report of Bucer was delivered to the commissioners at so late a period, that we may fairly presume the greatest portion of their work to have been already completed. It cannot, indeed, be doubted, that the many learned foreigners who were at this time settled and actively employed in England, and were almost without exception in favour of more extensive changes, exerted an important influence on public opinion; but it is also certain, that many English reformers, and the most active and considerable among the commissioners themselves, were desirous of a greater degree of simplicity both in faith and worship." The Two Books of Common Prayer compared with each other. Preface, p. 25.EDITOR.

tration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, after the Use of the Church of England."

It was the principle of Cranmer to proceed in the glorious work of Reform with moderation: he cautiously avoided the rejection of too much at once of what the people had been accustomed to consider as parts of religion, not merely to prevent public commotions, but in order to procure a gradual change in their opinions, rather than give a shock to their faith. It was however soon perceived that this first attempt to establish an English Liturgy upon the authority of Scripture and the practice of the primitive church was imperfect, and in some respects liable to objection; and we find Cranmer, very soon after its publication, consulting such of the foreign divines as were most celebrated for their learning and discretion, respecting further improvements. The portion of Scripture which was now daily read in the churches, and the zeal and diligence with which the genuine truths of Christianity were disseminated among the people, opened their minds, and operated so strongly upon their understandings, that in about two years a general revision of the Liturgy was thought expedient, and commissioners were appointed for that purpose. The revision was made with the utmost care and judgment; and the book, thus improved, was confirmed by parliament in the beginning of

a

a Particularly Bucer and Martyr, were now divinity professors in who, through his recommendation, Cambridge and Oxford.

April, 1552, and ordered to be used in all churches throughout the kingdom, from the feast of All Saints following. In this "Second Book," as it is called, of King Edward, there were many additions and corrections. Among the former were the sentences, exhortation, confession, and absolution, at the beginning of the morning and evening prayer, and the ten commandments in the communion service. The principal omissions were, the use of oil and the sign of the cross in confirmation, extreme unction at the visitation of the sick, and prayers for the dead, both in the communion and in the burial service, the use of the cross and the invocation of the Holy Ghost, and the mixture of water with wine in the celebration of the holy supper; and there were also several other alterations in the communion service. By these additions and alterations, our public offices were, in all important points of doctrine, brought nearly to their present state.

Soon after the publication of this book, King Edward died, and his successor, Mary, immediately upon her accession, caused both the statutes to be repealed which had authorised and directed the use of these two books, and restored the Latin Liturgies according to the popish forms of worship.

Early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, commissioners were again appointed to prepare an English Liturgy. Elizabeth had certainly not imbibed the same pure spirit of Christianity which had directed the pious and enlightened Edward and the venerable

Cranmer; and it was at first debated whether the First or Second Book of King Edward should be made the basis of the Liturgy, which was now to be offered to parliament. It was decided in favour of the Second Book; and the commissioners having entered upon their business in December, 1558, finished it in the April following. This new book was immediately ratified by act of parliament, which took effect on the day of St. John the Baptist, 1559. The following were the most considerable circumstances in which it differed from the Second Book of King Edward the Sixth:- Power was given to the ordinary to appoint the part of the church where morning and evening prayer should be read, the chancel having hitherto been the place commonly used for that purpose; proper first lessons were appointed for Sundays, no distinction of that sort having been made in former Liturgies; in the litany, a sentence, praying to be delivered" from the bishop of Rome, and all his detestable enormities," was omitted, and prayers were added for the "queen's majesty," and "for the clergy and people;" and several alterations were made in the communion service and in the rubric, with a view to conciliate the Roman Catholics. "This com

prehensive plan, added to the Queen's apparent attachment to usages that had obtained under the ancient establishment, induced many of the Roman Catholics to continue to join in the communion of the established church. Even the Pope was ready to give his sanction to the Liturgy, and to assent