The Act of Supremacy 1559 (1 Eliz, c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed under the auspices of Queen Elizabeth I of England. It replaced the original Act of Supremacy 1534 issued by Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, which arrogated ecclesiastical authority to the monarchy, and which had been repealed by Mary I of England. Along with the Act of Uniformity 1559 it made up what is generally referred to as the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... English parliament in front of the king c. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... First Act of Supremacy 1534 The Act of Supremacy, 1534 (26 Hen. ... Silver groat of Henry VIII, minted c. ... Queen Mary I of England (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July 1553 (de facto) or 19 July 1553 (de jure) until her death. ... The Act of Uniformity 1559 set the order of prayer to be used in the English Book of Common Prayer. ... The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was Elizabeth I’s response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.This response was set out in two acts of parliament. ...

The Act rewound the clock to the state of religious affairs as they were on the death of Edward VI. It revived 10 acts which Mary had reverted, and significantly tightened up the definition of what constituted heresy. Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) became King of England, King of France (in practice only the town and surrounding district of Calais) and Ireland on 28 January 1547, and crowned on 20 February, at just nine years of age. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ...

In the 1559 Act, Elizabeth declared herself Supreme Governor of the Church of England It further included provision for the Oath of Supremacy which provided for any person taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarchy. Failure to so swear was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath was later extended to include Members of Parliament and people studying at universities. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... The Oath of Supremacy, imposed by the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. ... Traitor redirects here. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

The text of the Oath of Supremacy was to be as follows:

"I, A. B., do utterly testify and declare in my conscience that the queen's highness is the only supreme governor of this realm and of all other her highness's dominions and countries, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes as temporal, and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm; and therefore I do utterly renounce and forsake all foreign jurisdictions, powers, superiorities, and authorities, and do promise that from henceforth I shall bear faith and true allegiance to the queen's highness, her heirs, and lawful successors, and to my power shall assist and defend all jurisdictions, pre-eminences, privileges, and authorities granted or belonging to the queen's highness, her heirs, and successors, or united or annexed to the imperial crown of this realm: so help me God and by the contents of this Book"

This had a specific impact on English Roman and European Catholic parish histories (Roman Catholics in England) since it expressly indicates that they must forswear allegiance to Roman Catholicism, inasmuch as the Church of Rome was directly a foreign jurisdiction, power, superiority and authority. However, during the early years of her reign Elizabeth practiced, in large measure, religious clemency and tolerance, which was an attempt to harmonise the state of affairs between Roman Catholics and Protestants in England. This was necessary for Elizabeth to fully establish her power, hold off threats of invasion from France and Spain, and overcome the accusations of illegitimacy that plagued her early years. In the last twenty years of her reign, as Catholic power within England waned (because Catholics were forbidden to take public office and were slowly deprived of their lands and fortunes) and anti-Spanish, anti-Jesuit sentiment increased, however, Elizabeth made numerous Catholic Martyrs. Perhaps the most famous of these was Fr. Edmund Campion. Portrait of Edmund Campion St. ...

This also affect Queen Elizabeth and her rule.

See also

• Religion in the United Kingdom
• List of Catholic martyrs of England

St Pauls Cathedral The United Kingdom is traditionally a Christian state, though of the four constituent countries, only England still has a state faith in the form of an established church. ... The Catholic martyrs of England who died for the Catholic faith in the years 1535-1680 and have officially been recognized as such by the Catholic Church are numerous. ...

External link

• The Act of Supremacy – Full text