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Upon
the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, scores of English
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Reformers
returned from exile on the European Continent.
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Many
of them were deeply influenced by Calvin’s reforms in
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Geneva, and
desired that similar reforms be enacted in
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England.
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When
Elizabeth refused to enact all the reforms of this group,
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they started an
opposition movement which sought to fully
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“Purify” the
English Church of Medieval accretions.
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Called
“Puritans” or “Dissenters” by their critics, these
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Reformers
preferred to call themselves “the Godly.”
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Overwhelmingly,
Puritans desired to remain in the Church of
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England, as the
notion of “denominations” was quite foreign in
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this period.
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Nevertheless,
Elizabeth had many of this group imprisoned
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during the course
of her reign.
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