Root and Branch Petition

The Root and Branch Petition was presented to the House of Commons on 11 December 1640 by a large group of Londoners and others. It asked for the abolition of the government of the English Church by archbishops, bishops, etc, and its jurisdictions, "with all its dependencies, roots and branches". It came right at the beginning of the Long Parliament and was significant because it set out most of the grievances against the Church of England under the Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud, hence, by implication, against the rule of Charles I, and because it helped to set the tone for the Parliament.

The petitition set out 35 particular grievances relating to rituals, restrictions on preachers, and other matters, in addition to the extension of canon law and its freedom from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts. Some of the effects of these were set out with the grievances, but at the end there was also a listing of three "dangerous consequences": the encouragement of the Romish religion, the emigration of many businessmen because of persecution, and the war with the Scots.

In due course, the Parliament implemented the main requests in the petition. In July 1641 the Act for the aboition of the High Commission (the apex of the system of ecclesiastical jurisdiction) was passed with the royal assent, as Charles I had not yet broken with Parliament. It also disabled other ecclesiastical courts from imposing criminal or civil penalties. After the break with the king, other measures were passed, dismantling the church hierarchy.

At the Restoration the Anglican church hierarchy was restored, but not the High Commission. The jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts was restricted, and they were left subject to the ordinary law courts.