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mer's command of which the whole Prayer Book witnesses. Cranmer's first act was to obtain a proclamation for the visitation of the entire kingdom, with the view of ascertaining the actual condition of the Church.

Cranmer's influence became more predominant than ever as the reign advanced, especially with the clergy. He carried an ordinance for receiving the Sacrament in both kinds, repealed the Act of Six Articles and other persecuting statutes, abolished images as objects of worship, secured the marriage of priests, took steps for changing the Mass into a communion service in English, published a useful catechism translated under his own eye from the German, issued a Book of Homilies for the use of such clergy as could not preach, of which he himself composed those of Salvation, Faith, and Good Works annexed unto Faith, and wrote a careful and elaborate treatise against the medieval doctrine of Unwritten Verities, confuting the notion that Catholic Tradition was entitled to impose teaching not revealed in Holy Scripture.

In 1549 was published for use the first English Prayer Book of King Edward VI. It retained the words Mass and Altar, the Eastward Position, the Eucharistic Vestments, the mixing of wine

and water, the doctrine of the Localised Presence, the wafer put into the mouth, prayers for the dead, and the oblation of the Eucharist before participation. Cranmer's answer to the rebels of Devon and Cornwall, who objected to the changes brought about by the Reformation, is one of his most interesting and characteristic compositions.

At this time Cranmer entertained as residents in his house at Lambeth many distinguished foreign Reformers, who greatly helped his plans : Bucer, John à Lasco, Peter Martyr (afterwards Professor at Oxford), Paulus Fagius (afterwards Professor at Cambridge), Peter Alexander, Bernardine Ochin, Matthew Negelinus, and others. "The labour of the most reverend the Archbishop of Canterbury," wrote Peter Martyr to Bullinger, January 27th, 1550, "is not to be expressed. For whatever has hitherto been wrested from them [the bishops], we have acquired solely by the industry and activity and importunity of this prelate." He obtained the abolition of popish books of devotion, and completed the new ordinal. Gentle towards Romish opposition, which he wished to win over by reason and conciliation, he was firm in his opposition to all excessive Puritan scruple and

fancy, such as Hooper's refusal to wear the usual episcopal garb of the day. In 1550 the communion table was substituted for the mediæval altar, in order to remove the Romish idea of a propitiatory sacrifice.

In the last two years of the reign of Henry, Cranmer had given up his views of the Localised Presence of Christ in the Communion. In 1550 he published a Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament. In the preface to this he says: "Christ hath made a sacrifice and oblation of His own body on the cross, which was a full redemption, satisfaction, and propitiation for the sins of the whole world. And to commend this His sacrifice unto all His faithful people, and to confirm their faith and hope of eternal salvation in the same, He hath ordained a perpetual memory of His said sacrifice, daily to be used in the Church to His perpetual laud and praise, and to our singular comfort and consolation; that is to say, the celebration of His holy supper, wherein He doth not cease to give Himself, with all His benefits, to all those that duly receive the same supper according to His blessed ordinance. But the Romish antichrist, to deface this great benefit of Christ, hath taught that His sacrifice upon

the cross is not sufficient hereunto, without another sacrifice devised by him and made by the priest . . . to supply Christ's imperfection; and that Christian people cannot apply to themselves the benefits of Christ's passion, but that the same is in the distribution of the Bishop of Rome; or else that by Christ we have no full remission, but be delivered only from sin, and yet remaineth temporal pain in purgatory due for the same, to be remitted after this life by the Romish antichrist and his ministers, who take upon them to do for us that thing, which Christ either would not or could not do. . . But what availeth it to take away beads, pardons, pilgrimages, and such other like popery, so long as the two chief roots remain unpulled up? . The very body of the tree, or rather the roots of the weeds, is the popish doctrine of transubstantiation of the real presence of Christ's flesh and blood in the sacrament of the altar (as they call it), and of the sacrifice and oblation of Christ made by the priest, for the salvation of the quick and the dead." This work attracted great attention and had extraordinary success. Gardiner, during his imprisonment in the Tower, wrote a reply. This produced another large and careful treatise from Cranmer in 1551, in which he

answers Gardiner point by point. Gardiner once more rejoined; and Cranmer occupied himself with a final treatise during his own imprisonment. Then came his martyrdom, and not a trace of this, his maturest work, remains.

In 1551 Cranmer was also busy in amending the First Prayer Book of Edward VI. He had the help of Bucer and Peter Martyr, as well as of Bishop Ridley, and Cox, afterwards Bishop of Ely. The General Confession and Absolution were added, and the Ten Commandments. The Prayer of Consecration was altered to discountenance the idea of a Localised Presence and a Propitiatory Sacrifice. Several points were omitted, as oil in confirmation, extreme unction, and prayers for the dead. The first half of our present words of administration were disused, and the second half substituted. The result was the Prayer Book of 1552, as it was authorised in that year, which is nearly the same as that established by Queen Elizabeth, when the happy union took place of the old and new sentences of administration. He once more thought of assembling representatives of all the foreign Reformed Churches, so as to obtain an agreement in religious doctrine. Once more the project failed, and was now finally abandoned.

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