Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/99

Rh All the acts favouring Protestants in the previous reign were repealed. A Romanist and a Cardinal, Reginald Pole, was placed in the See of Canterbury. The old Mass books were restored, and as far as possible the old liturgies. "The whole system," says Professor Green, "which had been pursued during Edward's reign fell with a sudden crash &hellip; the married priests were driven from their Churches, the new Prayer Book was set aside, the Mass was restored with a burst of popular enthusiasm. The imprisoned Bishops found themselves again in their Sees, and Latimer and Cranmer, who were charged with a share in the usurpation, took their places in the Tower." Still the people had no sympathy with Mary's leanings towards Rome.

Now the doctrine of transubstantiation was made a test doctrine by Mary's ministers. Without scruple for age or birth they were condemned and burned who denied it. Even the Princess Elizabeth did not escape examination, and it was only due to her wisdom that her life was saved for the future glory of England. When Tonsal, Bonner and Gardiner plied her with questions on the Sacrament, she gave this answer:

The most shameful blot of Mary's reign was her persecutions. Hundreds of the best men in England were burnt at