This thesis offers an assessment of the Edwardian Reformation and its significance for the wider development of English Protestantism by examining the liturgical reforms of the period. The central question that this thesis grapples with is, how did Edwardian reformers apply their theological concept of the ‘church’ as an invisible spiritual body of believers to the task of reforming the visible temporal institution of Tudor England? The overarching argument of this study is that, in the eyes of the reformers, the formal liturgy of the Church of England, as defined by the Prayer Book, formed a nexus between the temporal and spiritual realms so that the invisible Church was given visible expression in public worship. This meant that Tudor men and women could actively participate in the spiritual communion of saints through the tangible experience of church services, especially through the sacraments and by observing the Sabbath.

The examination of the relationship of mid-Tudor evangelical ecclesiology and liturgical reform presented in this thesis allows us to understand the Edwardian Church on its own terms. It challenges some long-held assumptions about the figures and events of the period, and their combined effect on later developments in English Protestantism, which continue to colour historiography. By taking a fresh approach to seemingly well-known texts, such as the Book of Common Prayer, this thesis argues that the relationship of ecclesiology and liturgical reform was a central feature of the Edwardian Reformation, an aspect of the period that has not been widely acknowledged in recent scholarship. A different ecclesiological theme is investigated through the lens of liturgical reform in each chapter to show how significant the doctrine of the church was to mid-Tudor reformers’ goals in terms of ecclesiastical structure and practical ministry.