Millenary Petition

Millenary Petition, moderate request for changes in certain practices within the Church of England, presented to King James I of England in April 1603 by Puritan ministers. It received its name from the claim by the authors that it had been signed by 1,000 (Latin millenarius, “of a thousand”) Puritan ministers. Some practices objected to were ceremonial, such as the priest’s making the sign of the cross during Baptism, use of the ring for marriage, the rite of confirmation, and ministers’ wearing of surplices. The petition caused the King to call the Hampton Court Conference (q.v.), where most of the Puritans’ requests were rejected.