Sue, did you see the St. Patty's Day Special: St. Patrick? It was on Fox Family Channel last March. TT ----- Original Message ----- From: <MrsLady002@aol.com> To: <BLANKENSHIP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2000 12:30 AM Subject: [BLANKENSHIP] RE: Church of England > Hey researchers, > > I found this while doing some other research. I have always heard that the > people left England because of their religion and could not get along with > the STATE CHURCH, also known as the Church of England. I have often wondered > why ones religion would be such a problem. I guess I was asleep in history > class when the teacher was trying to teach me all of this. There was no > freedom to choose what a person believed or how he could worship. After > reading this article I can better understand the problem the people have in > going to the Church of England, and wanting to leave England and start their > own church. This one article has opened my eyes to the life and times of the > early explorers of the New World. I also noticed that there was a James VI > of Scotland that was to become James I of England. (When Queen Elizabeth I > died in 1604 and James VI of Scotland was to become James I of England, he > traveled the post road on his way to be crowned.) I think I need to set back > here and do some more studies on the history of England and Scotland. I > would like to see just how close these two were in the Old World. I hope > this help someone else as much as it has helped me. Here is the link to the > website if you would like to read more about the Plymouth Colony and > Pilgrims. > http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/#part1 > Sue B. Altice > > THE STATE CHURCH > At the time the Pilgrim Fathers were living in England there was only one > church approved by the English rulers. Everyone was required to attend that > church -- and ONLY that church -- every week. If the English ruler were > Protestant, all people of the realm were required to follow the Protestant > beliefs and attend those church services; if the ruler were Catholic, > everyone in the kingdom was required to practice the Catholic faith and > rituals. All religion in the kingdom was strictly dictated by the government. > This is what we call a "State Church." > > The reigning ruler appointed the archbishop of his or her choice and every > church in the kingdom was under the direct orders of the ruler and the > archbishop. There was no freedom to choose what a person believed or how he > could worship. > > Anyone who objected to the beliefs of the state church or the forms of the > church services could be arrested, questioned and thrown into prison. If they > refused to give up their personal beliefs, they could be tortured in an > effort to make them agree with the state church. If they still refused to > give up their convictions after torture, they could be executed. Many people > were imprisoned, tortured and put to death. Those who were executed for their > religious beliefs died painful deaths. Many were hanged and quartered, some > were burned at the stake, while others were crushed to death under heavy > weights. > > There were two major groups of believers who disagreed with the beliefs and > practices of the Church of England. One group wanted to stay in the church, > but hoped to change its forms of worship: This group was called "Puritan" > because they wanted to "purify" the church. The other group did not believe > the state church could be changed: This group was called "Separatist" because > they wanted to separate completely from the Church of England. > > At the beginning of the 1600s, a group of Separatists began to gather at > Scrooby in the northeastern county of Nottingham. Scrooby was located on the > main post road which ran between Scotland and London. When Queen Elizabeth I > died in 1604 and James VI of Scotland was to become James I of England, he > traveled the post road on his way to be crowned. > > James I was a Protestant and the Separatists were hopeful he would be more > tolerant of differing religious views. It was not long, however, before the > Separatists learned that differing religious views would not be allowed under > the new king. > > > > > ==== BLANKENSHIP Mailing List ==== > Check out Walter R. (Ralph) Pyle's Homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~wrpyle - BE SURE TO NOTE THIS IS A NEW URL EFFECTIVE MARCH 2000. >