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The Thirty-Nine Articles · Article 37 of 39

Article XXXVII. Of the Civil Magistrates

The King's Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, and other his Dominions, unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign Jurisdiction. Where we attribute to the King's Majesty the chief government, by which Titles we understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended; we give not to our Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the Sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also lately set forth by Elizabeth our Queen do most plainly testify; but that only prerogative, which we see to have been given always to all godly

Princes in holy Scriptures by God himself; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil-doers.

The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.

The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death, for heinous and grievous offences.

It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars.

Latin text (1563)

Articulus XXXVI. De ciuilibus Magistratibus.

Regia Maiestas in hoc Angliæ Regno ac cœteris eius Dominijs, iure summam habet potestatem, ad quam omnium statuum huius Regni, siue illi ecclesiastici sunt siue non, in omnibus causis suprema gubernatio pertinet, & nulli externæ iurisdictioni est subiecta, nec esse debet.

Cum Regiæ Maiestati summam gubernationem tribuimus,. quibus titulis intelligimus animos quorundam calumniatorum offendi: non damus Regibus nostris aut uerbi Dei aut sacramentorum administrationem, quod etiam Iniunctiones ab Elizabetha Regina nostra nuper æditæ, apertissimè testantur: sed eam tantùm prærogatium, quam in sacris scripturis à Deo ipso omnibus pijs Principibus, uidemus semper fuisse attributam, hoc est, ut omnes status atque ordines fidei suæ a Deo commissos, siue illi ecclesiastici sint, siue ciuiles, in officio contineant, & contumaces ac delinquentes, gladio ciuili coerceant.

Romanus Pontifex nullam habet iurisdictionem in hoc regno Angliæ.

Leges Ciuiles possunt Christianas propter capitalia et grauia crimina morte punire.

Christianis licet et ex mandato Magistratus arma portare, et iusta bella administrare.

  • Numbered XXXVI in 1563, because Article XXIX was not printed until 1571.

Source: the first printed Latin edition (London: Reginald Wolfe, 1563), as given in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3 (1877), via CCEL. Original spelling kept.

Commentaries

Article-by-Article commentaries on Article XXXVII, oldest first.

  1. Thomas Rogers, The Faith, Doctrine, and Religion, Professed, & Protected in the Realme of England (first published 1585 as The English Creede; 1607 ed.)
  2. John Ellis, A Defense of the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England (first published in Latin 1660; 1700 English ed.)
  3. Gilbert Burnet, An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England (first published 1699; 1700 2nd ed.)
  4. William Beveridge, Ecclesia Anglicana Ecclesia Catholica; or, The Doctrine of the Church of England Consonant to Scripture, Reason, and Fathers (written before 1708; 1846–47 ed.)
  5. Edward Welchman, The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, Illustrated with Notes (first published in Latin 1713; 1790 English ed.)
  6. Anonymous, A Practical Exposition upon the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (1716)
  7. John Veneer, An Exposition on the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (first published 1725; 1734 2nd ed.)
  8. Martin Madan, A Scriptural Comment upon the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (1772)
  9. John Hey, Lectures in Divinity, Book IV (1796–98)
  10. George Pretyman Tomline, Elements of Christian Theology, vol. 2 (first published 1799; 1818 ed.)
  11. William Wilson, The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, Illustrated by Copious Extracts from the Liturgy, Homilies, Nowell’s Catechism, and Jewell’s Apology (1821)
  12. Thomas R. Jones, An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles by the Reformers (1849)
  13. William Trollope, Questions and Answers on the XXXIX Articles of the Church of England (1850)
  14. Edward Harold Browne, An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles, Historical and Doctrinal (first published 1850–53; 1895 printing)
  15. Alexander Penrose Forbes, An Explanation of the Thirty-Nine Articles (first published 1867–68; 1871 2nd ed.)
  16. Thomas Pownall Boultbee, A Commentary on the Thirty-Nine Articles (first published 1871; 1877 ed.)
  17. George Frederick Maclear and Watkin Wynn Williams, An Introduction to the Articles of the Church of England (1895)
  18. E. Tyrrell Green, The Thirty-Nine Articles and the Age of the Reformation (1896)
  19. Edgar Charles Sumner Gibson, The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, Explained with an Introduction (1896–97)
  20. Bernard C. Jackson, The Thirty-Nine Articles: A Short Exposition (1900)
  21. Edward John Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (1919)

Historical context

Article XXXVII concerns the civil magistrate. It ascribes to the Queen's Majesty the chief power in the realm over all estates, ecclesiastical and civil, but denies that princes are given the ministering of God's Word or of the Sacraments, referring to the Queen's Injunctions (1559). It also declares that the Bishop of Rome has no jurisdiction in England, that Christian men may be punished with death for heinous offences, and that they may lawfully bear arms in wars at the commandment of the magistrate. The 1553 Article was recast in 1563 to fit the Elizabethan settlement. Its clauses on capital punishment and war were directed against Anabaptist teaching that Christians may not bear the sword.

Sources: C. Hardwick, A History of the Articles of Religion (1851); E. H. Browne, An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles (1865); E. C. S. Gibson, The Thirty-Nine Articles (1896); Royal Injunctions (1559).