Richard Hooker's Doctrine of the Royal Supremacy

Download or read book Richard Hooker's Doctrine of the Royal Supremacy written by W. J. Torrance Kirby and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1990 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the eighth book of his treatise "Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie," Richard Hooker defends the royal headship of the Church of England in a remarkable series of theological arguments. His apologetic intention was 'to resolve the consciences' of the Disciplinarian-Puritan critics of the Elizabethan Settlement by a demonstration that the Royal Supremacy was wholly consistent with the principles of doctrinal orthodoxy as understood and upheld by the Magisterial Reformation. This study commences with a look at some current problems of interpretation and then examines Hooker's apologetic aim and methodology. Subsequent chapters demonstrate Hooker's reliance on the teaching of the Magisterial Reformers in the formulation of both the soteriological foundations of his political thought and his ecclesiology. Hooker's appeal to the authority of Patristic Christological and Trinitarian Orthodoxy in support of the Royal Supremacy is also discussed. The purpose of this book is to uncover the theological roots of a central aspect of Hooker's political thought, and thereby to attempt to shed new light on an important Elizabethan controversy.