... the Church was crucial if Elizabeth was to impose her wishes on the Church of England. Elizabeth chose a Catholic style hierarchy, where the Bishops instructed the clergy on religious matters according to Elizabeth. In theory this meant that Elizabeth could control the Church through the Bishops, leading her religion into the direction she wanted. However this depended on the loyalty of her Bishops, and since all but one of the Bishops refused the Oath of Supremacy, then Elizabeth had to use the Marian exiles living in Europe, who had not proved their loyalty to the crown unlike the previous Bishops. Elizabeth wanted subservient, uniform civil servants not reformers, this is why she chose the Catholic priests first. However because they did not declare loyalty to Elizabeth, she was forced into using the Protestant priests, who were less obliged to the crown. Therefore although the hierarchy of the Church of ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now