The Birth of the Church of England

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The sixteenth century was a tumultuous time for England. For years, the country had been steadfast in its Catholic beliefs, until the reign of Henry VIII. The monarch, infamous in history for having had six wives, founded a new church free from papal control. Thus, the Anglican Church, or the Church of England, was born in the midst of a growing European Reformation.
A brief history of the monarch is needed in order to understand the split from the Catholic Church. Henry Tudor was born the second son of King Henry VII who became the heir upon the death of his older brother in 1502 (Phillips 99). In June of 1509, Henry VIII was crowned King of England (Phillips 103). In order to secure a succession, he received a papal dispensation that allowed him to marry the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother (“Henry’s Divorce from Catherine”). Henry VIII was a devout Roman Catholic, having defended the religion against Martin Luther’s reformed ideas (Pettegree). This lead to Henry being styled Fidei Defensor, or Defender of the Faith, by Pope Leo X in 1521 (Robinson).
In the early years of their marriage, Queen Catherine had a number of pregnancies which ended in stillbirths and short-lived children, with the exception of a “healthy baby daughter, later christened Mary” in 1516 (Phillips 102). In 1524 or 1525, Queen Catherine was examined by physicians who believed that she was past childbearing age (“Henry’s Divorce from Catherine”). Henry’s desire to beget a legitimate son, as well as pressure from Anne Boleyn, a court lady with whom he had fallen in love, acted as a catalyst to end the marriage that he believed “in the absence of a male heir, … threatened the future of his dynasty” (Pettegree). Henry VIII aske...

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... basis for the Episcopal Church (“Anglican Church Around the World”). Anglican core beliefs include that the Bible is essential, both Nicene and Apostles Creeds are statements of faith, and Holy Communion is practiced (Firth). Baptism at an early age is often practiced as well (Firth). The Book of Common Prayer, dating back to the time of Edward VI, is used as a basis for worship and doctrine (“A Short History of Anglicanism”). The Anglican Church allows for the ordination of women (Firth), and “[maintains] a hierarchy of priests and bishops” within the Church, similar to Catholicism, without a Pope (Firth). The current head of the Anglican Church of England is Queen Elizabeth II.
Henry VIII impacted history with the founding of a new reformed religion. The Anglican church has stood the test of time, through reforms and counter-reforms by the monarchs of England.

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