The origins of the statement that eventually…
May 1553 CE
The origins of the statement that eventually becomes the Forty-Two Articles, the confession of 1553 that teaches justification by faith, are equally obscure.
As early as December 1549, the archbishop had been demanding from his bishops subscription to certain doctrinal articles.
Cranmer had in 1551 presented a version of a statement to the bishops, but its status remained ambiguous.
He had not devoted much effort into developing the articles, most likely due to work on the canon law revision.
He had become more interested once the hope for an ecumenical council began to fade.
Cranmer and John Cheke, his scholarly friend who had been commissioned to translate the articles into Latin, were by September 1552 working on draft versions of the articles.
When the Forty-Two Articles are finally published in the following May, the title-page declares that the articles had been agreed upon by the Convocation and have been published by the authority of the king.
This is not in fact the case and the mistake was likely caused by miscommunications between the archbishop and the Privy Council.
Cranmer complains about this to the council but the authorities' response is to note that the articles were developed during the time of the Convocation, hence evading a direct answer.
The council gives Cranmer the unfortunate task of requiring subscription to the articles from the bishops, many of whom oppose them and point out the anomaly of the title-page.
While Cranmer is carrying out this duty, certain events, as they unfold, will render the subscriptions futile.
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