Archbishops of Canterbury

Although both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York were influential, the Archbishop of Canterbury was regarded as the superior. During her long reign, Elizabeth had three. Matthew Parker / Edmund Grindal / John Whitgift
MATTHEW PARKER (1559-1575) Parker began his life as a Catholic, but was converted to Protestantism while at Cambridge University. He was favored by both Henry VIII and Edward VI. He became Queen Elizabeth's first Archbishop of Canterbury in 1559. He was largely responsible for implementing the Elizabethan religious settlement and monitoring abuses within the Church. He was a man dedicated to his work, and earned the title of "Nosy Parker" for his interference in people's affairs. He and Elizabeth did not always see eye to eye on religious matters, and both had to compromise their views in order to work together. Early in her reign, Elizabeth expressed a dislike of the clergy marrying. In 1561 she issued a royal injunction forbidding any cleric to live with his wife and family in any cathedral close or college. This was not popular, and Parker, who was married himself, defended clerical marriage. The Queen relented over the cathedral closes, but not the colleges. Elizabeth was also concerned that the religious settlement was not being properly observed in some areas outside London, and she blamed Parker for not ensuring that the act of uniformity was properly enforced.
EDMUND GRINDAL (1575-83) Although Elizabeth's relationship with Archbishop Parker was not always easy, they worked well together, and put the Elizabethan Church on a firm foothold. They had differences of opinion, but this was perhaps inevitable, and the strength of the partnership can be seen in the success of the Church in the early years, and that Parker remained in his office until his death in 1575. Elizabeth's relationship with his successor, Edmund Grindal, was disastrous. Until Parker's death, he had been Archbishop of York and was well thought of and admired. the problem with Grindal was that he had some Puritan sympathies, and wished the Church to be more overtly Protestant.
Almost immediately he began to make changes, and allowed the publication of the Protestant Geneva Bible, which had been suppressed by Parker. His actions soon irritated the Queen. She wanted every church in the land to worship God as the religious settlement dictated, and did not want any change made to the settlement, or for the church to be pushed in a more fervent Protestant direction. She liked the settlement just as it was, and didn't want to change it. She and Grindal soon clashed over the matter of "prophesyings", and it was the Archbishop who came out worse for wear. Prophesyings were unauthorized meetings for prayer and preaching. These concerned Elizabeth who felt that the preachers would preach what ever came into their head, not what was sound doctrine. Not only would this undermine her Church, but could also be dangerous, as there was no control over what would be said, or the issues that could arise.
Elizabeth was deeply suspicious of Puritans and their dislike of hierarchy, and was concerned that what began as religious talk could quickly become political. Such preachers, she felt, would also make people discontented with her Church and heighten what was already a very tense religious situation. As well as facing opposition to the Church from Puritans, she also faced a very dangerous opposition from the Catholics. Elizabeth believed that all the preachers of the realm should preach according to the regulations of her Church, preach the same message and doctrine, and read from approved books of homilies and prayers. This would unite the country, not divide it. In 1576, she ordered Grindal to suppress the prophesyings. However, Grindal was very much in favor of them. He believed that they were a good way of educating the people into the doctrine of the new faith, and for providing religious instruction, as some places were without ministers. He consulted his bishops over the matter, and finding that ten out of fifteen approved of them, he felt obliged to write to the Queen to tell her that he thought they were a good idea. His letter to her was remarkably bold, as were his further petitions. He told her that although she was the highest authority in the land over political matters, she did not have the same authority over spiritual matters, and that he must put the will of God above his duty to her as sovereign. Elizabeth was outraged at his defiance, and he was suspended from his office in the summer of 1577 until his death in 1583.
JOHN WHITGIFT (1583-1604) Of all her Archbishops of Canterbury, John Whitgift was the one that Elizabeth got on the best with. He shared many of her views and aspirations, and as well as this, was unmarried. Like Elizabeth, he was suspicious of Puritans, and was eager to defend the Elizabethan Church against this religious group, as well as protect it against the machinations of the Catholics. He was a devoted Anglican, and pushed for obedience to the English Church. Elizabeth affectionately called him her "little black husband". When she lay on her death-bed, she drew comfort from his presence, and his prayers for her immortal soul.
Elizabethan Church Contents