King Henry VIII and the Church of England Henry VIII is approached as one of the most dependable kings in English history. The king was determined to have his name carried on with male heir. This led him to doing something that no one ever had dared to do during the 1400s and 1500s. After establishing that his first wife Catherine of Aragon was not able to bare him a son, he wanted to divorce. Henry asked Pope Clement to divorce him and his wife but the pope refused. By the king being so determined to continue the tradition it persuade him to do something. King Henry VIII hopelessness to divorce his first wife drove him to becoming head of The Church of England. This paper will examine his early life, the purpose of the church …show more content…
Henry was determined to make sure that he has a male heir after his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had only birth a daughter. He wanted to divorce he so he could get remarry. In 1534 after several attempts to persuade the Pope to give him a divorce, Henry passed the Act of Succession and then the Act of Supremacy. The Act basically stated that the king was supreme of the Church of England . Henry adopted the title given to him by the Pope in 1521, that of Defender of the Faith. The Church of England is the established or state church in England . It is divided into two parts , Canterbury in the South of England and York in the …show more content…
However, as part of the Anglican Communion, there are some distinctively Anglican ideas which can be identified in the Church of England. People believe that there information in the bible that is the core of all faith and thoughts. One belief is that worship and life is a loyalty way to live and it was set like that in the beginning (Bates 1). The celebration of the sacraments ordained by Jesus, that of Baptism and Eucharist or Holy Communion. A system of Church order that stems from ancient times and is focused on the ordained ministry of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon. A firm commitment to the ministry of the whole people of God lay and ordained together. A way of Christian thinking that involves Scripture, Tradition and Reason held together in creative tension (Bates 1).
One of the consequences of the Act was that the first allegiance of the clergy was changed from the papacy to Henry VIII. As well as this, traditional privileges the Church was entitled such as the benefit of the Clergy and sanctuary were abolished .This implies that the Act of Supremacy 1534 played a greater role in changing the relationship between the Church and State because it undermined the authority of the church within England as the controlling of the church’s finances, administration and development was shifted Henry. All of these changes suggest that the previous close relationship between the Church and state had weakened as they contributed to the paving for the growth of Protestantism. In addition, despite the fact both the Acts of Supremacy reinforced royal control, Henry being confirmed as ‘Supreme Head of Church’ would have had a greater impact on the relationship between the Church and State in the 16th century than Elizabeth becoming ‘Supreme Governor’ because Elizabeth’s title still applied that the pope was supreme head whilst Henry’s highlighted the fact that Henry was the only head of church - further undermining the influence of the
Henry II was known as one of England’s greatest kings. Along with being king of England, he was also Count of Anjou, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Duke of Normandy, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland, and controlled little bits of Western France and Scotland. He was most famous for his legal administrative systems, his long disputes with the Church, and his dramatic turmoil with his family. One of his greatest quotes was, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”
Cromwell, according to Elton, was the architect of the Henrician reformation, in his establishment of royal supremacy over the Church and national sovereignty enacted by parliamentary statute. Nevertheless, Scarisbrick challenges this, by emphasising the role of Henry, who he argues was devoted to reform before Cromwell entered the inner circle. However, the question of significance to the advancement of the reformation also brings into question the role of Cranmer who held responsibility for the divorce decree, but also was involved in parliamentary statute to an extent. This essay will weigh these arguments along with primary sources to show that, it was Cromwell who was more significant in the advancement of the reformation.
One of the very first things Henry did was dissolve all the Catholic monasteries and take over their land, selling it to people known as the "gentry class" also referred to as the "land owning class". (which continued to dominate the English commons until the mid-19th century). Henry ridding all of these monasteries' really affected the Catholics, as they were an important part in community life and vital to the economy. People travelling and making pilgrimages often looked to monasteries' as a free place to stay for the night, people were now going to have to look and pay for accommodation, if monasteries' weren't going to be open people weren't interested in coming to England, which really damaged its economy (Tom Richey, 2014). (enotes.com, 2015) explains that during his reign, King Henry VIII permitted a translation of the bible from Latin to English, the "Lord's Prayer" was recited in English rather than Latin and priests of the English church, were not allowed to marry. Around this time was when monarchs were starting to gain more power and the church and nobility were losing their
In the early years of King Henry’s reign, the king was more preoccupied with enjoying the benefits of fame and power than with ruling his country. During this period, the king was young, energetic, athletic, and quite happy to embrace these qualities of youth. Unfortunately, this left a rather large void in terms of governing England. Into this void, stepped his most trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey. Wolsey, during the early years of King Henry’s reign, enjoyed an immense amount of power and influence over many different arenas of English society. He served in several different church positions, much to his contemporaries char grin, and he served as the Lord Chancellor of England from 1515 onwards until his eventual fall from the King’s grace. These positions rewarded Wolsey with an immense amount of influence over the young King Henry VIII and his power. As the king was preoccupied with his youth, he was quite happy letting the cardinal act in his stead.
In 1525, Henry VIII hoped to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon revoked. At the point when the pope declined to permit the dissolution, the ruler at that point looked to the philosophical colleges and Parliament trying to challenge ecclesiastical amazingness over religious issues. Parliament reacted by passing a progression of enactments, which little by little started to strip the Catholic church in England of its energy. At long last, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, proclaiming Henry VIII the preeminent specialist over the congregation in England. The ruler in this way turned into the leader of the Church of England. Henry VIII was likewise given control of chapel accounts and arrangements. This new Anglican Church, headed by arrangements of Henry's picking invalidated his past marriage and after that moved with Parliament to approve Henry's marriage to his paramour Ann Boleyn. Pope Clement VII reacted by having Henry VIII banned. This was a demonstration sometime later, given that Henry had just been announced the leader of his own congregation, along these lines having officially expelled "himself" for the Roman Church. In 1533, Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen Consort as Henry VIII's second spouse. Henry separated his first spouse, the Spanish Catherine of Aragon, and made another state religion keeping in mind the end goal to make the separation legitimate. Amidst these turbulent circumstances and in spite of her Catholic
King Henry II said “Who shall rid me of this troublesome priest?” (1964 Becket). After four knights over herd King Henry II say this and went to the church to kill Becket because they thought he said to kill Becket . Then King Henry II would get the power of the church. Subsequently King Henry II would be able to do more things scene Becket is not have the power of the church.
While still in England, many monarchs take steps that affect the Puritans in both positive and negative ways. In the late 1500s, he creates the Protestant Church of England, which is a step in the right direction for Puritans. Henry’s action might seem like he is giving religious freedom to his citizens; however, Henry forces all his subjects to convert to
This reformation movement “produced dangerous Protestant-Catholic differences in the kingdom” (Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) 3). The Catholic vs. Protestant debate weakened Christianity by splitting it into two disputing pieces. Even today in the 21st century, Catholics and Protestants cannot agree on certain aspects of Christianity. The shift of Christianity in England from Catholic to Protestant upset the equilibrium of a majority of people’s lives. Religion was very important in Europe in the 16th century and was a part of everyday life. For many people, it was as important as their job or their family, so Henry’s decisions to alter the religious course of England also affected the economy and overall well-being of England in a negative way. After he died in 1547, England was left in a state of
After waiting for the pope to resolve Henry’s issue, he decided that he should not have to answer to the pope. In 1531 Henry had an assembly of English clergy declare him “protector and only supreme head” of the Church of England. This action made Henry more powerful than the pope and started the loosening the ties with the Catholic
n 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which declared the king the supreme head of the church in England. This step, the result of Henry's concern about the succession, created a complete break with the Catholic Church in Rome and led to revolution. Concerned about maintaining the loyalty of his subjects, Henry prosecuted prominent leaders who refused to accept his new religious authority. Among these was the king's former friend and counselor, Thomas More (1478–1535), who was beheaded for treason in 1535.
When Henry took the throne, he gave most of the responsibility to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. He did this because as a 17 year old boy, he felt he wasn’t ready for all of that responsibility at once (Sommerville). Even though he was king, he had no desire to know the everyday problems of England. One of Henry’s biggest accomplishments as king was implementing a naval fleet. He tried to get England to fight with Scotland and France (Scarisbrick 738).
“Henry, king not by usurpation, but by the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand, not pope, but false monk.” This quote from the Letter of Henry IV to Gregory VII portrays a hostile environment. It depicts two leaders, with one of the leaders refusing to acknowledge the other’s title. What was once an alliance turned into a bitter rivalry. The relationship between the popes and the rulers during the Middle Ages were at first, mutual, but as time progressed, these two sides clashed due to internal power struggles.
When Henry VIII made the decision to have his marriage annulled to his wife Catherine of Arrogan, a devoted Catholic and mother to his daughter Mary and also Cousin to the Pope of Rome, he set in motion a series of events that would have a monumental effect on the future of religion in England. The pope refused Henry’s request and this lead to the reformation of the Church of England to which he instilled himself the head of allowing for his divorce. Once the divorce was complete, Henry married Ann Boleyn, who was part of the growing protestant group, who gave birth to Henrys second Daughter Elizabeth. After he had Ann beheaded, he went on to Marry Jane Seymour, who gave him his long awaited heir Edward. Elizabeth and Edward were both brought up as Protestants, whereas Mary was raised as a catholic. In 1539 Henry took it upon himself to abolish the monasteries his intentions were to gain the wealth and “suppress political opposition.” (http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item106122.html)
Growing up Henry gradually increased his status and by the age of ten he became heir apparent when his older brother Arthur died from “sweating sickness” in 1502. Just a few months before Arthur’s death, Henry played a major role in the joining of marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon. After the death of Arthur, the first heir, King Henry VII wanted to keep a marital alliance between England and Spain, so by these terms a treaty was signed al...