An Admonition to the Parliament.

Audio  • Season 1 • Episode 9  • An Admonition to the Parliament.

The Artwork is      The title page of Travers’ Ecclesiasticae Disciplinae. Located in the University of Glasgow library.

The Music is      John Dowland. Now, O Now Our Needs Must Part, Lute Song by Les Canards. 

From The First Book of Songs or Airs. A collection of songs by John Dowland, which includes one instrumental piece. The book was published in London in 1597 and was reprinted four times during the composer's lifetime. 

The Admonition Controversy. 

The Admonition Controversy of the early 1570s marked the start of the first organised attack on the government of the established Church in protestant England. 

The Admonition to Parliament demanded the elimination of the Episcopal hierarchy of the Church of England, replacing it with the system of Church government ordained by God -Presbyterianism. 

The publication of this, the first open manifesto of the Puritan party, set the stage for the most important literary and religious duel in the Elizabethan period.

English Presbyterianism. 

In early 1573, the first phase of the Presbyterian offensive reached its peak. 

Ecclesiastical authorities struggled to shut down Presbyterian presses and halt the spread of a message that threatened the Church's theological and organisational foundations. 

“Ecclesiasticae Disciplinae",

Walter Travers wrote "A Full and Plain Declaration of Ecclesiastical Discipline" in 1574. 

Originally written in Latin, this small volume argued that the English church should abolish governance by bishops and instead adopt a Presbyterian model. 

“Prophesying”. 

The Puritan clergy had started organising prayer gatherings known as "Prophesying," which Elizabeth found troubling. 

During these meetings, the Puritans embraced a more liberal prayer style that did not align with Elizabeth’s guidelines. 

Elizabeth and her advisers were concerned about the potential spread of this practice, which they feared would undermine her Religious Settlement. 

Modelled on Zwingli’s utopian vision, namely the “Prophezeit”, Puritans learnt of the practice through contact with the congregations of the Zurich refugees, who had settled in London.