rliament on three separate occasions and finally on March 26, 1532, the annates bill passed through parliament, but only by the slimmest of margins. The next step to be taken in the quest for a divorce was what was called 'Commons Supplication against the Ordinaries,' and this raised questions about clerical power and was fed by recent heresy proceedings. The 'Supplication,' as it became known, was based on three articles. The first, all future legislation was subject to royal veto, the second, existing laws would be evaluated by a committee of both clergy and layperson and those objectionable laws would be revoked, and third, all standing were to be left to royal authority. This would effectively strip the clergy of a majority of their powers and thus leave any decisions, specifically that of a divorce, to Henry. This situation closely resembled the situation that dealt with praemunire in 1531 but the major, marked difference here was that this time Henry would not compromise. Henry went as far as to speak to the Commons and attempt to persuade them into passing a bill, drafted by Cromwell, that would restrict ecclesiastical legislation, and protect royal supremacy. To this the clergy made Henry a compromise offer and instead of accepting the compromise, Henry tightened demands and soon the clergy learned that the more they resisted, the tighter the demands became. Then on May 15, 1532, Henry ordered what is called prorogation, which means that all bishops had to settle that day or face individual punishment. This act coincided with the, somewhat forced, passage of the 'Submission' through only the upper house of the commons as Henry knew that it would not pass the lower house. Not only did Henry use only one house, he only used a select few people, three bishops and a few abbots and only one, Bishop Clerk, voted against it. The following day, May 16, three bishops and four abbots took the 'Submission' to the king at Westmins...
