[[Church History]] / Religious Persecution and Legal Status of the Prayer Book > [!note] New - 2026-03-26 ![[assets/covers/religious-persecution-and-legal-status-of-the-prayer-book.jpg]] The legal status of the Prayer Book became a lightning rod for religious authority throughout the Reformation and English Civil War. Its prohibition and restoration marked the shifting power between competing theological visions for England’s church, functioning as both a practical liturgical tool and a symbol of whose religious vision would prevail. ## Catholic Suppression and the Marian Persecutions When Edward VI died in 1553, his half-sister Mary I assumed the throne and immediately moved to reassert Catholic authority. She banned the [[Book of Common Prayer]] and restored the Latin Mass, reversing the Protestant settlement that had made the Prayer Book the centrepiece of English worship.[^bray-common-prayer-p21] Her actions represented a direct challenge to the Anglican liturgical tradition that had crystallised around Cranmer’s English text. Elizabeth I restored the Prayer Book upon her accession in 1558, re-establishing Anglican authority after the Marian interregnum.[^bray-common-prayer-p21] ## Puritan Opposition and the English Civil War More surprisingly, the Prayer Book faced suppression not only from Catholic monarchs but from Protestant Puritans with their own vision for England’s religious life. During the English Civil War in the 1640s, a Puritan-dominated Parliament banned the Prayer Book, viewing its liturgical structures and prescribed forms as obstacles to the spontaneous, sermon-centred worship they championed.[^bray-common-prayer-p22] > [!quote] > ‘During the English Civil War in the 1640s, the Book of Common Prayer was once again banned, this time, not by a Catholic queen but by a Puritan Parliament.’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the [[Anglican Liturgy]]*, p. 22 ## Restoration and the Re-establishment of Anglican Order The Prayer Book remained illegal for use in church for nearly two decades during the Commonwealth period. When Charles II returned to the throne after the civil war, he brought the Prayer Book back, signalling the restoration of Anglican liturgical authority over both Catholic and Puritan competitors.[^bray-common-prayer-p23] The length of its suppression underscores how thoroughly the Puritan regime had sought to dismantle the Prayer Book tradition. ## Selected passages > ‘During the English Civil War in the 1640s, the Book of Common Prayer was once again **banned-** this time, not by a Catholic queen but **by** **a** **Puritan** **Parliament.**’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 22 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p22.jpg|🖼️]]) ## Appearances - *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, Samuel L. Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane - REVISION AND REVOLUTION, pp. 21–23 ## Related [[Reformation and Liturgy]] . [[English Reformation]] . [[Ecclesiastical Authority]] . [[Liturgical Tradition and Continuity]] . [[Prayer Book Revisions and Adaptations]] [^bray-common-prayer-p21]: [[How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy]], p. 21 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p21.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘The next year, **1553,** the young king, **Edward** **VI,** **died.** He was succeeded by his half sister, **Queen** **Mary** **I,** who banned the Book of Common Prayer and restored the Latin Mass.’ [^bray-common-prayer-p22]: Ibid., p. 22 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p22.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘During the English Civil War in the 1640s, the Book of Common Prayer was once again **banned-** this time, not by a Catholic queen but **by** **a** **Puritan** **Parliament.**’ [^bray-common-prayer-p23]: Ibid., p. 23 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p23.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘**War** **passed** **and** **Oliver** **Cromwell** **died,** **a** **weary** **nation** **wel-** **comed** **back** **a** **new** **king,** **Charles** **II.** **He** **brought** **back** **the** **prayer** **book,** **which** **had** **been** **illegal** **to** **use** **in** **church** **for** […]’