Explain Why Puritans Presented the Millenary Petition to James I in 1603.

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Explain why Puritans presented the Millenary Petition to James I in 1603. The Millenary Petition was a representation made to James VI when he became King of England in 1603. It was so called from the 1000 signatories to the document, which was about a tenth of the English clergy. It was essentially a plea from the Puritans of the day to return the Church of England to a simpler, Calvinistic, form of worship with removal of popish elements. There were both short and long term reasons for the petition and why it was presented to the new King. The Puritans were not happy with Elizabeth’s middle way she created that was meant to be a mixture of regulations from both the catholic and protestant churches in order to please as many people as she could. They thought that there were more elements of the church that were in agreement with the Catholic Church rules than the protestant ones though. The Puritans wanted the church to be a lot plainer, with not a lot of colours, whereas the Catholic Church was full of colours and stain glass windows. Hence the reason that a part to the petition was that ministers should not to wear gowns. Elizabeth quite liked that aspect to the church but when the puritans knew there was to be a new king, they knew there was a chance they could change the church to be adapted back to the protestant ways. James was known to be interested in church matters and they hoped he would give their petition a serious consideration. Hence the reason that a part to the petition was that ministers should not to wear gowns. This brings me on to a long term issue of the Puritans which lead them to the presenting of the petition. They felt that they had been treated unsympathetically by Elizabeth there had been discontent building since her death. There were so many issues within the church that Puritans wanted to see be addressed and changed. All which were
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