THIRTY–NINE ARTICLES were founded on the FORTY TWO ARTICLES drawn up by Cranmer in 1552, promulgated by Royal Mandate in June 1553 but never enforced because of the R. Catholic reaction under Mary I. At Elizabeth’s instance, Art. 29 against ‘The Wicked which eat not the body of Christ’ was originally omitted to avoid offence to R. Catholics and Art. 20 includes an assertion of the church’s right to prescribe ceremonies. They were issued in 1563 and Art. 29 was restored in 1571 after the Bull Regnans in Excelsis (Feb. 1570) had purported to depose the Queen. From then on they had to be signed by all clergy and members of the two universities until 1865 when the univ rule was abolished and a slightly less stringent requirement was imposed on the clergy. The articles are short summaries of dogmatic issues not narrow definitions and, doubtless intentionally, allow for the variety of interpretation. For example, Art. 6 states that ‘Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation’. They nevertheless set forth the relationship to R. Catholics, Calvinists, Anabaptists and the State; rejecting transubstantiation and works of superogation. Anglo-Catholic priests’ cassocks have 39 buttons which, according to the Revd D. Skeoch, represent those Articles he can accept (to the navel) and those he has rejected (below). See also ELIZABETH I – 6.