Act of Uniformity 1551
The Act of Uniformity 1551, sometimes referred to as the Act of Uniformity 1552, or the Uniformity Act 1551 was an Act of the Parliament of England.
| Act of Parliament | |
Parliament of England | |
| Long title | An Acte for the Unyformytie of Comon Prayer and admynistracion of the Sacramentes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 5 & 6 Edw. 6. c. 1 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 April 1552 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
It was enacted by Edward VI of England to supersede his previous Act of Uniformity 1548. It was one of the last steps taken by the 'boy king' and his councillors to make England a more Protestant country before his death the following year. It replaced the 1549 Book of Common Prayer authorised by the Act of Uniformity 1548 with a revised and more clearly Protestant version, the 1552 Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer, the principal author of both the 1549 and 1552 versions of the liturgy maintained that there was no theological difference between the two.
Anyone who attended or administered a service where this liturgy was not used faced six months imprisonment for a first offence, one year for a second offence, and life for a third. This Act was repealed by Mary in 1553.