st the Roman see since the twentieth year of
Henry VIII. The heresy laws were revived, and a horrible persecution of
those who refused to disown the doctrines of the prayer-book began in
1555, and lasted during the remainder of the reign. Nearly 300 persons
were burned to death as heretics in these four years, among them being
five bishops: Hooper of Gloucester, Ferrar of St David's, Ridley of
London, and Latimer (until 1539) of Worcester in 1555, and Archbishop
Cranmer in 1556. The chief responsibility for these horrors rests with
the queen; the bishops who examined the accused were less zealous than
she desired. The most prominent among them in persecution was Bonner of
London. The exiles for religion were received at Frankfort, Strassburg
and Zurich. At Frankfort a party among them objected to the ceremonies
retained in the prayer-book, and, encouraged by Calvin and by Knox, who
came to them from Geneva, quarrelled with those who desired to keep the
book unchanged. Mary died in 1558. Her reign arrested the rapid
spoliation of the church and possibly prevented the adoption of
doctrines which would have destroyed its apostolic character; the
persecution by which it was disgraced strengthened the hold of the
reformed religion on the people and made another acceptance of Roman
supremacy for ever impossible.

Elizabethan settlement.

Elizabeth's accession was hailed with pleasure; she was known to dislike
her sister's ecclesiastical policy, and a change was expected. An Act of
Supremacy restored to the crown the authority over the church held by
Henry VIII., and provided for its exercise by commissioners, whence came
the court of High Commission nominated by the crown, as a high
ecclesiastical court; but Elizabeth rejected the title of Supreme Head,
and used that of Supreme Governor, as "over all persons and in all cases
within her dominions supreme." An Act of Uniformity prescribed the use
of the prayer-book of 1552 in a revised form which raised the level of
its doctrine, and injunctions enforced by a royal visitation
re-established the reformed order. All the Marian bishops save two
refused the oath of supremacy and were deprived, and eight were
imprisoned. Of the clergy generally few refused it; for only some 200
were deprived for religion during the first six years of the reign.
Bishops for the vacant sees were nominated by the crown and elected by
their chapters as in Henry's reign; Matthew Parker was canonical