Summary: Elizabethan Church
Key dates:
Elizabeth became queen in 1558 and, at first, she did not impose any particular religious beliefs on the people of Ireland. In 1559 however the Irish Parliament declared that Elizabeth was Supreme Governor of the Church of Ireland. As a result, everyone was to use the Book of Common Prayer. People who did not attend the Protestant services were fined 12d (5p) and were known as recusants.
The services were still conducted entirely in Latin but, as most of the Irish did not understand English, this made little difference to them!
Elizabeth was excommunicated (put out of the church) by the Pope in 1570. However, although the Protestant religion was not successfully imposed, there were no persecutions on the grounds of religious belief.
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