But, the power was again in the hands of those who desired the "alteration of religion," as it was called, and this was effected mainly by three acts of Parliament. By the first, the tenths on Ecclesiastical property were given over to the crown; by the second, the Supremacy of the sovereign in matters ecclesiastical was reaffirmed; and the third, the Act of Uniformity authorised and imposed under serious penalties the Reformed Prayer Book of Edward VI. in place of the ancient Catholic Missal and Pontifical. The Bishops in the House of Lords fought these measures step by step and unanimously voted against them. With a few unimportant modifications the new Eucharist office was that of the second Book of Common Prayer of 1552--the Book, from which every vestige of the mass in its essential parts had been removed. After a struggle, in which by some means the defenders of the old religion delayed the passage of the measure, it was passed by a majority of only three votes, and without the support of one single spiritual peer. To a man the Bishops of the Church opposed the Bill. The famous speeches of Bishop Scot and of Abbot Feckenham, in which they challenged history to produce a single instance where the bishops of any church were not consulted and listened to in so momentous a change, were the last constitutional efforts of the Church of England to prevent the innovations in matters of religion being imposed by Parliament upon the consciences of those who regarded them as heretical. The very narrow majority, which carried this religious revolution, makes it more than likely that their arguments had weight. There can be no reasonable doubt that had ten episcopal sees not been vacant at this time the intentions of the Government would have been defeated, at least for a time, and the new Liturgy would not then have been imposed upon all by an act of Parliament. As it was, the Elizabethan settlement of religion--as it is called--rested obviously on the infallibility of the odd three votes of the majority. It was now that the "Act of Uniformity in Religion" came to be enforced. By it the Tudor maxim _Cujus regio ejus religio_--that must be the religion of a kingdom, which is the religion of the ruler--was carried out in practice. The form of religion authorised by the Queen and the Parliamentary majority was the only one allowed. The consciences of individuals were disregarded, and just as in the days of the persecuting pagan Emperors Christians were compelled by force to throw incense on the altars of the pagan gods, so now with equal disregard for freedom of conscience Catholics--those who refused to accept the Elizabethan settlement of religion--were forced by fines, imprisonment and other penalties, to attend the new services in their parish churches. They became known as "Recusants" for refusing to be present at the Communion Service of the English Prayer Book, which had again taken the place of the Holy Mass.