Thirty-Nine Articles - Bishops' Book (1537)

Bishops' Book (1537)

The Institution of the Christian Man (also called The Bishops' Book), published in 1537, was written by a committee of forty-six divines and bishops headed by Thomas Cranmer. The purpose of the work, along with the Ten Articles of the previous year, was to implement the reforms of Henry VIII in separating from the Roman Catholic Church and establishing the Ecclesia Anglicana. It was considered reformatory in basic orientation, though it was not strongly Lutheran. The work functioned as an official formulary of the new Anglican faith in England. It was later superseded by other creedal and official statements during the successive reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth I, as the Anglican Church moved toward a more Reformed theological position. It would evolve into the King's Book. "The work was a noble endeavor on the part of the bishops to promote unity, and to instruct the people in Church doctrine."