Edward the Sixth and Mary Tudor

Edward the Sixth and Mary Tudor reigned in England for 11 years. The Reform of the Church in England changed course twice in this time. In 1547, Edward became King at the age of 9. The change from Roman Catholic to Protestant went from "stop-go" to "full steam ahead"! Edward was brought up as a convinced Protestant, and his Government was headed by Protestants.

The key figures were men like Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Nicholas Ridley, a great scholar; Hugh Latimer, a great preacher. They were joined by leading Protestant scholars from the continent, who held important positions in the universities.

Real changes in the way the Church worshipped began to happen.

In 1549 and 1552, a new Prayer Book was introduced, changing the form of the church services. The main service had been called the "Mass", and was led by a Priest. It was described as a sacrifice, and the Priest's most important task was "to offer the sacrifice of the Mass". It was believed that when he did this, the bread and wine were changed into the body and blood of Christ.

Now, the church was led by a "minister" , whose job was to teach from the Bible about Christian living, and "administer the sacraments". The main church service was now "Holy Communion", and the bread and wine were believed to be symbols of Christ. The service was a reminder of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, not a sacrifice itself.

Along with this went the removal of elaborate "vestments", the special clothes worn by the priest. The "altar" in the church became a simple table. The beliefs behind all this were set out in a list of 40 "Articles of Religion". Within the church there were lots of different ideas about many things, but the Church was now clearly a Protestant church, alongside the Lutheran and Calvinist churches of the continent.

Not everyone liked the changes. The changes to the priests' clothes and the church furniture, upset people who loved what they were used to.

Edward died in 1553, probably of TB. The Regent, the Duke of Northumberland, tried to prevent Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's oldest daughter, from becoming Queen. She was a Catholic, longing to bring back the old ways of worship, and many people feared what she would do. But Mary was the next in line to take the throne, and the country rejected the attempt to put someone else in her place.