Act of Six Articles

Timeline

1. c. 1539Palace of Westminster · LondonWhen the new Parliament opened, Chancellor Audley conveyed the king's demand for doctrinal uniformity. In a committee of eight bishops, the Cromwell-Cranmer faction and conservatives reached deadlock. Though Henry VIII was already Supreme Head of the English Church, he was unwilling to accept more radical sacramental reform.
2. 1539House of Lords, Palace of Westminster · LondonOn 16 May Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, broke the deadlock with six doctrinal questions and won the king's support. The articles affirmed: the Eucharist is the true body of Christ (transubstantiation); laity need not receive in both kinds; clergy must be celibate; vows of chastity are binding; private masses are beneficial; auricular confession should be retained. In June the bill became statute; denying the first article was punishable by burning as heresy with no benefit of abjuration.
3. c. 1539England · EnglandHugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, and Nicholas Shaxton, Bishop of Salisbury, resigned in protest against the Act. Cranmer sent his family abroad. Protestants called it the 'Six Whips.' Enforcement was limited while Cromwell lived, but it clearly showed Henry's later rejection of Lutheran sacramental views until it was repealed under Edward VI in 1547.