Origin from 1645
During the Puritan-dominated Commonwealth that followed the English Civil War, Parliament repeatedly restricted prayer book worship, culminating in its outright prohibition in 1645 and its replacement with the Presbyterian-leaning Directory for Public Worship; episcopacy itself was abolished by parliamentary ordinance the following year. The established Church of England effectively ceased to exist in its prior form for a decade and a half, until the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II led to the Act of Uniformity 1662, passed on 19 May that year, which reinstated the Book of Common Prayer and, that August, evicted an estimated 1,200 to 2,000 Puritan clergy who would not conform to it, the Great Ejection.
Facts
Dates
Start YearSourced to the subject's own account1645, Parliament's prohibition of prayer book worship and its replacement with the Directory for Public Worship; the abolition of episcopacy itself followed in 1646. End YearSourced to the subject's own account19 May 1662, the Act of Uniformity, restoring the Book of Common Prayer and evicting nonconforming clergy that August. StatusSourced to the subject's own account Learn More
How the Interregnum Suppressed Anglican Worship
This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.
During the Puritan dominated Commonwealth that followed the English Civil War, Parliament moved repeatedly against prayer book worship, restricting it by degrees before prohibiting it outright in 1645. In its place came the Directory for Public Worship, a Presbyterian leaning replacement for the Book of Common Prayer, and the following year parliamentary ordinance went further still, abolishing episcopacy itself. For a decade and a half, the established Church of England effectively ceased to exist in the form it had held before the war.
That suppression ended only with the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, which brought the Act of Uniformity, passed on 19 May 1662, reinstating the Book of Common Prayer as the law required standard for worship. The reinstatement carried its own cost that same August, when an estimated 1,200 to 2,000 Puritan clergy who would not conform to the restored prayer book were evicted from their livings in what became known as the Great Ejection.
What this period changed for Anglican worship was a decade and a half interruption followed by a restoration that itself reshaped the church, trading the older Puritan clergy who would not conform for a Church of England once again defined, by law, around the Book of Common Prayer that the Commonwealth had banned outright in 1645.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Church of England directly: "The established Church of England effectively ceased to exist in its prior form for a decade and a half, until the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II led to the Act of Uniformity 1662..."
Occurred In
Spread Event Of
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.