Bishops' Book, The

BISHOPS' BOOK, THE: A work published at London in 1537, compiled by a commission of English bishops and clergymen, of which the full title is The Institution of a Christian Man, containing the exposition or interpretation of the common creed, of the seven sacraments, of the x commandments and of the pater noster, and of the ave maria, justification, and purgatory. It reflects the conditions of the time in maintaining that the authority of the pope is a human institution, while not denying that the Church of Rome is a part of the Church Universal. It is reprinted in Formularies of Faith Put Forth by Authority during the Reign of Henry VIII, edited by C. Lloyd, bishop of Oxford (Oxford, 1825). Consult C. Hardwick, A History of the Christian Church during the Reformation (6th ed., London, 1877).