ABSTRACT

The opening salvos of Edward VI's reformation were fired not at his coronation, but in sermons that were delivered in the days that followed it. The Book of Homilies was a collection of twelve sacred addresses that were 'appointed by the King's Majesty' to be read in every parish church in England. Faith, as Cranmer defined it in the Homily of Salvation, is to believe that Holy Scripture and the Creed are true; and moreover, faith is to have a sure trust and confidence in God's merciful promises of salvation from everlasting damnation by Christ, and with a loving heart to obey his commandments. On 8 March 1548, an Order of the Communion was released, an important forerunner of the Book of Common Prayer. It provided a liturgy in English for April's Easter communion service. Early in 1549, when the laws that prohibited the marriage of priests were repealed, for the first time, Margaret could appear openly as Cranmer's wife.