Ironically, Blair may have been more of a political than a religious force in
Virginia.  His appointment as commissary helped gain him a seat on the
Council, and from there he became a significant political power.

Edward Bond
Alabama A & M University




>===== Original Message From Discussion of research and writing about Virginia
history          <[log in to unmask]> =====
>The English Act of toleration came in 1689 after the Glorious
>Revolution. Virginia's General Assembly cited the English Act of
>Toleration in a 1699 statute, by which time burgesses had long since
>made concessions to Quakers in Virginia, such as allowing them to affirm
>rather than swear oaths in court.
>
>Blair was certainly a force to be reckoned with, but his position as
>Commissary of the Bishop of London gave him only limited authority in
>church matters. Divinity students from the College of William and Mary
>had to go to England for ordination, and Blair did not have the ability
>to consecrate churches, confirm the newly catechized, control vestries,
>or regulate colonial clergy.
>
>Linda H. Rowe
>Historical Research
>Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
>757-220-7443
>
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