The Royal Governors and Ecclesiastical Duties

Abstract

As the Council of Trade formulated and implemented new and comprehensive policies for administering the overseas empire between 1675 and 1690 a program for the King’s church emerged.¹ Guided by the Council, of which he was a member, the influential Bishop of London Henry Compton established a policy for the supervision of the church that divided authority between civil and ecclesiastical officers.² This was a procedure without precedent in the English church; specific duties were delegated to the royal governors and to the deputies of the London prelate known as commissaries. The governors’ role was unique in that they were granted a limited supervisory role over church affairs in America that in England were reserved for a prelate. As the royal governor was the king’s chief representative in a colony it seemed appropriate that the official should administer civil and ecclesiastical responsibilities. Serving as the administrative head of the provincial government, the governors maintained communication on various details with the Council of Trade and Plantations in London and the bishop of London.³