What were Thomas Cranmer’s Forty-two Articles?

The Forty-two Articles were a set of doctrinal formulas written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1553 to define the dogmatic position of the Church of England regarding contemporary religious controversies.12

Cranmer intended these articles to serve as a means "for the avoiding of controversy in opinions". To ensure adherence to these doctrines, the government compelled all clergy, schoolmasters, and university degree candidates to subscribe to them.12

The articles were partly derived from the Thirteen Articles of 1538, which had been influenced by the Lutheran Augsburg Confession. Following the accession of Mary I later in 1553, the Forty-two Articles were eliminated as the church returned to Roman Catholicism. Under Elizabeth I, these articles were later revised and reduced to become the Thirty-nine Articles, which were officially accepted by the Anglican church.12