THE DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE OF DIVORCE

This tract first appeared in August, 1643 and was addressed to both Parliament and the Westminster Assembly of Divines. At that turbulent time, Parliament was in the early throes of assuming a position of political supremacy, destined to directly challenge the King, leading to civil war. The Puritan party in Parliament, with Milton’s help, had succeeded in destroying the episcopacy, the form of church government inherited from the pre-reformation Roman Catholic Church and challenging King Charles’ rule, which had refused to call Parliament.  It was at this point that Milton wrote the following tract as a specific proposal for church reform, recommending that the new church abandon canon law on marriage since marriage was no longer considered a church sacrament.