A conference called by King James I early in his reign at Hampton Court in response to concerns raised to him. Apart from the authorization for a new English translation—the King James Bible—the conference yielded little else.
As James VI of Scotland travelled south in April 1603 to take up his new appointment as King James I of England and Ireland (while remaining also king of Scotland) upon the death of Elizabeth I, he was petitioned by many people hoping that the new king would do for them what Elizabeth refused. Most visible among these were the Puritans, who presented him with a petition claiming to have the support of a thousand clergy and others (hence its name "the Millenary Petition), in which they complained about "abuses" in the church which they hoped the new king would help put right.
The idea of a conference to air theological issues would have been anathema to Elizabeth, who had grown up amidst times when a person could loose his life just for expressing an idea contrary to those in political ascendency. James I took to it with verve, having grown up in a Scottish church where open theological discussions were the norm. James I called for the conference for Nov 1603 but had to postpone it because of an outbreak of plague.
The Hampton Court opened on 14 Jan 1604, and lasted three day. Essentially a "round-table" gathering of bishops, members of the privy council, and prominent laymen, it had "no real precedent, no agreed procedures, or constitutional standing—all of which gave the King enormous freedom in the chair" (Judith Maltby and Helen More). The Puritan representations were not called until the third day. Most of their complaints about the Prayer Book, liturgies, and popery were ignored. King James, however, responded well to their proposal for a new and more accurate English translation of the Bible. The project brought all the sides of the conference to a common goal; the new translation was published in 1611, authorized by the king became known as the "Authorized Version" or "King James Bible."
Resources & Further Reading:
☰ "The Purtan Conflict," being Sect.92, Chap.VII of Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom. Vol. I: The History of Creeds.
©ALBERITH
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