The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the Parliament of England, 14 Charles II c. 4 (1662),[nb 1] which prescribed the form of public prayers, administration of sacraments, and other rites of the Established Church of England, following all the rites and ceremonies in the Book of Common Prayer. It also required episcopal ordination for all ministers, which was reintroduced after the Puritans had abolished many features of the Church during the Civil War.
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An immediate result of this Act, nearly 2,000 clergymen chose to leave the established church in what became known as the Great Ejection of 1662.
The provisions of the Act of Uniformity 1662 were modified by the Act of Uniformity Amendment Act, of 1872.
The Act of Uniformity itself is one of four crucial pieces of legislation, known as the Clarendon Code, named after Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, Charles' Lord Chancellor. They are:
Combined with the Test Act, the Corporation Acts excluded all nonconformists from holding civil or military office, and prevented them from being awarded degrees by the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
The Book of Common Prayer introduced by Charles II was substantially the same as Elizabeth's version of 1559, itself based on Cranmer's earlier versions of 1549 and 1552. Apart from minor changes this remains the official and permanent legal version of prayer authorised by Parliament and Church.
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