History of the Puritans under Elizabeth I

The reign of Elizabeth I of England, from 1558 to 1603, saw the rise of the Puritan movement in England, its clash with the authorities of the Church of England, and its temporarily effective suppression in the 1590s by severe judicial means.

The English Reformation, begun in the reign of Henry VIII of England, was initially influenced by a number of reforming movements on the continent: Erasmian, Lutheran, and Reformed, while the practice of the Church of England continued to display many similarities with Roman Catholicism.

In the reign of Henry's son, Edward VI of England, the English Reformation took on a distinctly Calvinist tone. Leading Reformed churchmen sought refuge in England, including Peter Martyr Vermigli, Martin Bucer, and John a Lasco (who became head of the stranger churches). Thomas Cranmer, the primate of the Church of England, on the issue of the eucharist adopted the Reformed, rather than the Lutheran position.

Cranmer wrote his opinions into the Book of Common Prayer, which he revised several times during Edward's reign. The 1552 version, in particular, incorporated many of Martin Bucer's suggestions, as did the 1552 Forty-Two Articles. But the Church of England retained practices which had been discarded by the continental Reformed churches (including the keeping of Lent, allowing the baptism of infants by midwives, retaining the custom of the churching of women, requiring the clergy to wear vestments, and requiring kneeling at Communion).

...
Wikipedia