submission of the clergy

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submission of the clergy, 1532. By the submission, which convocation passed on 15 May 1532, the English church surrendered its right to make provincial ecclesiastical laws independently of the king. It followed a campaign against the legal autonomy of the church, probably managed by Thomas Cromwell. The clergy promised to issue no new canons without royal licence, and to submit existing canons to a royally appointed committee for revision. It was passed with only seven bishops present, of whom three gave full assent. Sir Thomas More, a supporter of church immunities, surrendered the lord chancellorship the following day. Although it was a significant humiliation for the clergy, no major revision of church law followed. The submission was enacted as statute (25 Hen. VIII c. 19), later repealed under Mary I in 1554–5.

Euan Cameron