The Corporation Act of 1661 belongs to the general category of test acts, designed for the express purpose of restricting public offices in England to members of the Church of England. Events January 6 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. ... The several Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church 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. ...

Though commonly spoken of as one of the "Penal Laws", and enumerated by Butler in his "Historical Account of the Laws against the Roman Catholics of England", it was not directly aimed against them, but against the Presbyterians. It was passed in December, 1661, the year after the Restoration, by Charles II. Parliament was at that time entirely reactionary. The Cavaliers were in power, and they aimed at nothing short of restoring England to its state before the time of the Commonwealth. It required all the prudence of the Earl of Clarendon, the chancellor, to restrain them. The Corporation Act represents the limit to which he was prepared to go in endeavouring to restrict the power of the Presbyterians. They were influentially represented in the government of cities and boroughs throughout the country, and this act was designed to dispossess them. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Events January 6 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. ... Charles II (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (retrospectively de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... An aerial view of Parliament of India at New Delhi. ... Cavaliers were gentlemen supporters of the Royalist cause during the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) For other meanings for see cavalier. ... // Definition and linguistics The original phrase common wealth or the common weal is a calque translation of the Latin term res publica (public matters), from which the word republic comes, which was itself used as a synonym for the greek politeia as well as for the republican (i. ... The title Earl of Clarendon was created in 1776 for the politician and diplomat Thomas Villiers, second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey. ...

The Act provided that no person could be legally elected to any office relating to the government of a city or corporation, unless he had within the previous twelve months received the sacrament of "the Lord's Supper" according to the rites of the Church of England. He was also commanded to take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, to swear belief in the Doctrine of Passive Obedience, and to renounce the Covenant. A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace. ... An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges his duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to his Sovereign or country. ... An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges his duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to his Sovereign or country. ... Covenant, in its most general sense, is a word for a solemn contract or similar undertaking. ...

In default of these requisites the election was to be void. A somewhat similar act passed twelve years later, known as the Test Act, prescribed for all officers, civil and military, further stringent conditions, including a declaration against Transubstantiation. The several Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists. ... Transubstantiation is the belief held by the Roman Catholic Church that the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus during Consecration. ...

These two acts operated very prejudicially on Catholics, forming an important part of the general Penal Code which kept them out of public life. In later times the number, even of non-Catholics, who qualified for civil and military posts in accordance with their provisions was very small, and an "Act of Indemnity" used to be passed annually, to relieve those who had not done so from the penalties incurred. There was no expression in this act limiting its operation to the case of Protestants; yet on the only occasion when a Catholic ventured to ask for a share in the Indemnity, it was refused on the ground of the act not being applicable to him. (Butler, op. cit., 19.) A penal code can be defined as that portion of a states laws that deal with defining the elements of particular crimes and specifying the punishment for each crime. ... The Indemnity and Oblivion Act passage through the Convention Parliament was secured by Lord Clarendon, the first minister of King Charles II and it became law on 29 August 1660 during the first year of the English Restoration. ...

The Corporation Act remained nominally in force throughout the eighteenth century. It was eventually repealed in 1828, the year before Catholic Emancipation. 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Catholic Emancipation was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity and the Test Acts. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia (also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia today) is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11...