V. ‘Relics Of The Amorites’: The Civil Magistrate And Religious Uniformity

Abstract

In the years immediately following the enactment of the Elizabethan Settlement of 1559, the threat of schism loomed over the Church of England with respect to provisions governing uniformity of church ornaments and ecclesiastical dress—the so-called ‘Vestiarian Controversy’. In the days and months following the accession of Elizabeth Tudor to the throne of England, correspondence exchanged between Peter Martyr Vermigli and various disciples of his among the Marian exiles reveals the spectre of schism looming within evangelical ranks of the Church of England. In letters to Vermigli, Thomas Sampson articulates the uncertainty felt by many of the returning exiles concerning the eventual shape of the expected new religious settlement. At several points in his letter, Bullinger appeals directly to the authority of Vermigli.Keywords: civil magistrate; England; Peter Martyr Vermigli; religious uniformity; Thomas Sampson