ABSTRACT
In 1550 John Hooper’s consecration as bishop of Gloucester had been delayed while he refused to assume the vestments which the Ordinal required. In explaining himself to the Council Hooper had reduced to almost nothing the discretionary powers of the magistrate in matters of religion. Even things indifferent required general confirmation from the word of God and proof of their evangelical utility. The Knoxians had based the worship and order of the Frankfort congregation upon their understanding of scripture, whereas Cox’s faction pleaded the duty of the congregation to respect a form of service confirmed by public authority and hallowed by its use in Edward’s reign. The split in the Church was no less real or painful for these fraternal regrets. Home informed Zurich that ‘the little flock has divided itself into two parties.’ ‘And so’, echoed an obscure London clergyman who kept some record of these events, ‘the gracious knot of Christian charity is broken’.
