The Savoy Conference of 1661 was a significant

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

discussion that took place, after the Restoration of Charles II, in an attempt to effect a reconciliation within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Proceedings

It was convened by

Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 J ...

, in his lodgings at the

Savoy Hospital The Savoy Palace, considered the grandest nobleman's townhouse of medieval London, was the residence of prince John of Gaunt until it was destroyed during rioting in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The palace was on the site of an estate given t ...

in London. The Conference sessions began on 15 April 1661, and continued for around four months. By June, a deadlock became apparent. The conference was attended by commissioners: 12 Anglican

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s, and 12 representative ministers of the

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

factions. Each side also had nine deputies (called assistants or coadjutors). The nominal chairman was Accepted Frewen, the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

. The object was to revise the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

''.

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...

for the Presbyterian side presented a new liturgy, but this was not accepted. As a result the Church of England retained internal tensions about governance and theology, while a significant number of dissenters left its structure and created non-conformist groups retaining Puritan theological commitments. In 1662 the Act of Uniformity followed, mandating the usage of the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' and spurring the

Great Ejection The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England, following The Restoration of Charles II. It was a consequence (not necessarily ...

Commissioners

The nominated commissioners and deputies were as follows: * Accepted Frewen, Archbishop of York *

, Bishop of London *

John Cosin John Cosin (30 November 1594 – 15 January 1672) was an English churchman. Life He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich School and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was a ...

, Bishop of Durham * John Warner, Bishop of Rochester * Henry King, Bishop of Chichester * Humphrey Henchman, Bishop of Salisbury *

George Morley George Morley, 27 February 1598 to 29 October 1684, was a senior member of the Church of England from London, who served as Bishop of Worcester from 1660 to 1662, and of Winchester from 1662 to 1684. Early life Morley was born in London, Eng ...

, Bishop of Worcester * Robert Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln * Benjamin Laney, Bishop of Peterborough * Brian Walton, Bishop of Chester * Richard Sterne, Bishop of Carlisle *

John Gauden John Gauden (died 20 September 1662) was an English cleric. He was Bishop of Exeter then Bishop of Worcester. He was also a writer, and the reputed author of the important Royalist work '' Eikon Basilike''. Life He was born at Mayland, Essex, ...

, Bishop of Exeter For the presbyterians: *

Edward Reynolds Edward Reynolds (November 1599 – 28 July 1676) was a bishop of Norwich in the Church of England and an author.Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Prepared by the Rev. John M'Clintock, D.D., and James Strong, ...

, Bishop of Norwich *

Anthony Tuckney Anthony Tuckney (September 1599, in Kirton-in-Holland – February 1670) was an English Puritan theologian and scholar. Life Anthony Tuckney was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a fellow there from 1619 to 1630. He was town preacher ...

John Conant Rev. John Conant D.D. (18 October 1608 – 12 March 1694) was an English clergyman, theologian, and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Life Conant was born at Yettington, Bicton, in the southeast of Devon, England, the eldest son of Rober ...

William Spurstow William Spurstowe (Spurstow) (c. 1605–1666) was an English clergyman, theologian, and member of the Westminster Assembly. He was one of the Smectymnuus group of Presbyterian clergy, supplying the final WS (read as UUS) of the acronym. Life H ...

* John Wallis *

Thomas Manton Thomas Manton (1620–1677) was an English Puritan clergyman. He was a clerk to the Westminster Assembly and a chaplain to Oliver Cromwell. Early life Thomas Manton was baptised 31 March 1620 at Lydeard St Lawrence, Somerset, a remote sou ...

* Edmund Calamy *

* Arthur Jackson * Thomas Case *

Samuel Clarke Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Early life and studies Clarke was born in Norwich, ...

Matthew Newcomen Matthew Newcomen (c. 1610 – 1 September 1669) was an English nonconformist churchman. His exact date of birth is unknown. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge (M.A. 1633). In 1636 he became lecturer at Dedham in Essex, and led the ...

Deputies

On the episcopal side there were: * John Earle, Dean of Westminster *

Peter Heylin Peter Heylyn or Heylin (29 November 1599 – 8 May 1662) was an English ecclesiastic and author of many polemical, historical, political and theological tracts. He incorporated his political concepts into his geographical books ''Microcosmu ...

Sub-dean of Westminster. *

John Hacket John Hacket (Born Halket) (1 September 1592 – 28 October 1670) was an English churchman, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry from 1661 until his death. Life He was born in London and educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Cambridge. On ta ...

John Barwick John Barwick (1612–1664) was an early English royalist churchman and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. Early life He was born at Witherslack, in Westmorland. John was the third of five sons, and he and his brother Peter Barwick (later his biogr ...

Peter Gunning Peter Gunning (1614 – 6 July 1684) was an English Royalist church leader, Bishop of Chichester and Bishop of Ely. Life He was born at Hoo St Werburgh, in Kent, and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and Clare College, Cambridge, wher ...

* John Pearson * Thomas Pierce * Anthony Sparrow *

Herbert Thorndike Herbert Thorndike (1598 – 11 June 1672) was an English academic and clergyman, known as an orientalist and Canon of Westminster Abbey. He was an influential theological writer during the reigns of King Charles I and, after the Restoration, Kin ...

On the presbyterian side there were: * Thomas Horton * Thomas Jacomb * William Bates * John Rawlinson *

William Cooper William Cooper may refer to: Business *William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers * William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman *William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator * Will ...

* John Lightfoot * John Collinges * Benjamin Woodbridge There was to have been one more deputy on the presbyterian side, Roger Drake. A clerical error caused his name to appear as "William Drake" in the official document, and he did not actually attend. Frank Bate, ''The Declaration of indulgence, 1672: a study in the rise of organised dissent'' (1908), p. 18.

Publications

* "Order of the Savoy Conference," in Gee and Hardy ''Documents Illustrative of English Church History'', pp. 588–94 (London, 1896) * Prof. Charles Woodruff Shields, ''Book of the Common Prayer... as amended by Westminster Divines, 1661'' (Philadelphia, 1867; new ed., New York, 1880). *

Daniel Neal Daniel Neal Daniel Neal (14 December 16784 April 1743) was an English historian. Biography Born in London, he was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, and at the universities of Utrecht and Leiden. In 1704 he became assistant minister, an ...

, ''History of the Puritans'', part iv (New York, 1863)

References

1661 in England {{Anglican-stub