Supplication against the Ordinaries facts for kids

The Supplication against the Ordinaries was a formal complaint made by the House of Commons (like today's Parliament) in 1532. It was about problems people had with leaders and priests of the Church of England. In this complaint, "ordinaries" meant church officials, like a bishop, who had special power over a certain area.

Why the Complaint Was Made

The people in the House of Commons had many complaints about the Church. A writer from that time, Edward Hall, said that Members of Parliament (MPs) were very upset about how strict the church officials were. They especially disliked how people were treated in trials for heresy (beliefs that went against official church teachings).

Problems with Church Trials

Hall wrote that church officials would call people in and accuse them of heresy. They would list charges but wouldn't say who accused them. This made people very scared. If someone was accused, they had to either admit they were wrong (abjure) or be burned. They couldn't prove their innocence.

How the Supplication Was Created

The MPs decided to write down all their complaints and give them to King Henry VIII. Some historians, like Geoffrey Elton, believe the government might have helped write the Supplication even before Parliament discussed it. Other historians, like Stanford Lehmberg, think it might have been written by Thomas Cromwell or that the MPs came up with it on their own.

What we do know is that the Supplication had an introduction and nine main complaints.

What the Supplication Said

The introduction of the Supplication said that there were disagreements between the church leaders and the regular people in England. This was partly because of books with different ideas, but also because of the "unkind behavior" of church officials. The complaint said this disagreement was causing trouble in the country. It asked the King to fix these problems.

The Nine Main Complaints

Here are the nine main issues listed in the Supplication:

• The Church's own law-making body, called the Convocation, had too much power. MPs also thought the heresy trials were unfair.
• Church officials used tricky questions in heresy trials, which often trapped people who didn't know much.
• It was expensive and annoying for regular people to have to go to church courts far from their homes.
• Church officials used excommunication (being kicked out of the Church) for small reasons.
• The fees charged in church courts were too high.
• Church officials charged a lot of money to appoint priests to their jobs.
• Church leaders gave important church jobs to young relatives, calling them their "nephews."
• There were too many holy days, and people didn't observe them with enough devotion.
• Clergymen held too many jobs outside the Church.

The Supplication ended by telling the King how much the MPs loved him.

The King's Response

On March 18, the Speaker of the Commons, along with other important people, gave the Supplication to King Henry VIII. They also asked for Parliament to end its session.

King Henry VIII took the Supplication and thought for a moment. He then told them that a king, who is a judge, should not be quick to believe accusations. He said he would always listen to the accused person before making a decision.

He pointed out that their complaint was against church leaders and asked for changes. But then he said this request was odd because they also wanted Parliament to end and go home. He told them that if they wanted their complaints fixed, they had to stay longer. He also warned them that if they didn't agree to a reasonable solution now, he would use the full power of the law, and they wouldn't get another chance. After his speech, the Speaker and his group had to leave.

The Church's Reply

For several weeks, nothing seemed to happen with the Supplication. But when the Church's law-making body, the Convocation of Canterbury, met again on April 12, the Supplication was the first thing they discussed. It seems the King had asked William Warham, the Archbishop of Canterbury, for an official answer.

Archbishop Warham presented the Supplication to the Convocation and asked them to discuss it right away. Three days later, Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester, strongly argued against the parts of the Supplication that questioned the Convocation's power to make church laws. The church leaders agreed with Gardiner and sent his arguments to the lower-ranking clergy, who also agreed on April 19.

Gardiner's Arguments

In his reply, Gardiner said that the House of Commons was wrong to claim there was a disagreement between church leaders and regular people. If there was any disagreement, he said, it was because of "unkind behavior of certain bad and rebellious people" who had wrong religious ideas.

Gardiner also said that even though there were many good people in the Commons, he understood that bad information and strong efforts from "evil-minded people" could make even wise people believe things that weren't true.

He also defended the Convocation's power to make laws, saying it was based on the Bible and old church traditions. He said they didn't need the King's permission, but he did praise the King's wisdom. When this reply was sent to the King, it argued that any problems in heresy trials were the fault of a few individuals, not the whole church law system. Archbishop Warham also added his own reply, saying he had already started reforms for high fees in church courts the year before. So, the Convocation's answer politely rejected the Supplication.

The King received Gardiner's reply around April 27. Another reply was later corrected by John Fisher in May 1532, but historians don't know if this very strong reply was ever actually given to the King.

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