What dispute over ecclesiastical benefices contributed to Sir Edward Coke’s dismissal?

The dispute over ecclesiastical benefices that contributed to Sir Edward Coke’s dismissal involved the King’s right to grant permission for an individual to hold multiple church offices simultaneously (plural benefices).

When a case regarding this right arose, King James I issued a royal injunction ordering the judges to take no action until the King’s pleasure was known. While the other judges submitted to the royal command, Coke and his colleagues initially ignored the injunction. When summoned before the King and the Privy Council, the other judges complied, but Coke refused, stating that he would act as an "honest and just judge ought to do." This act of defiance, alongside his interference with the Court of Chancery, led to his formal dismissal from office on November 14, 1616.1