ABSTRACT
Over the course of the two centuries between 1500 and 1700 the English Church experienced a succession of dramatic changes. Starting out as a branch of the international Roman Catholic Church, it moved through a series of Reformations to emerge under Elizabeth I as a unique, independent, national Protestant Church. For more than a hundred years after 1559, this new English Church was engaged in the difficult tasks of defining its theological and liturgical character, establishing its traditions and drawing its boundaries. The subsequent chapters of this book will provide a detailed consideration of this long and tortuous process. This first chapter offers a narrative outline of the main twists and turns in the story and introduces the major historiographical debates.
