English Reformation
The English Reformation was a significant religious movement that emerged as part of the broader Protestant Reformation, which began in Germany in the early sixteenth century. While the Reformation in Germany was primarily sparked by Martin Luther's theological disputes with the Catholic Church, the English Reformation was largely driven by King Henry VIII's personal and political motives, particularly his desire for a male heir. After the Pope denied his request to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry established the Church of England, declaring himself the supreme head and severing ties with the Roman Catholic Church.
This shift involved the enactment of the Act of Supremacy and the dissolution of monasteries, redistributing church wealth and altering the religious landscape of England. Although Henry did not fundamentally change core Catholic doctrines, the formation of the Anglican Church allowed for a fusion of traditional practices with new Protestant ideas. Over time, the English monarchy oscillated between Protestantism and Catholicism, especially under Henry's successors, Edward VI and Mary I, culminating in Elizabeth I's reign, which solidified Anglicanism as the state religion. The English Reformation ultimately transformed England into a predominantly Protestant nation, with the Church of England remaining a central institution for centuries.
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English Reformation
The English Reformation was an offshoot of the larger Protestant Reformation that began in Germany in the early sixteenth century. German monk Martin Luther started the Reformation to protest what he saw as the abuses and excesses of the Roman Catholic Church, including its corruption and claims of sole religious authority. Instead of reforming as Luther had intended, the church excommunicated him. This led to a split in the Catholic Church that eventually gave rise to Lutheranism and many other branches of Protestant Christianity throughout the formerly Catholic Europe.
The Reformation in England originated not from major theological differences between the church and another party, but instead from King Henry VIII's wish to marry as many times as was necessary to produce a male heir. Henry had defended Catholicism from Luther's attacks early in the Reformation, but he became angered by the Roman Catholic pope's refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could remarry. Henry therefore passed legislation in the early 1530s that made English monarchs the supreme heads of the new Church of England and eliminated the nation's subservience to the church government in Rome. In the end, the English Reformation permanently established the Church of England as the official religion of England.
Background
The Protestant Reformation usually is dated to 1517 in Germany, when Catholic theologian Martin Luther published a list of grievances against the Roman Catholic Church. In this list, now known as the 95 Theses, Luther claimed Christians needed faith and the Bible above all else to be saved by God. Luther criticized the Roman Catholic papacy for selling the forgiveness of sins and hoarding wealth while so many Catholics suffered in poverty. Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church in 1521, after Luther refused to retract his views. Luther's early writings that had started the Reformation became the basis for the Protestant branch of Lutheranism. This denomination eventually became popular in Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and other areas of northern Europe.
Protestantism's spread throughout Europe beginning in the early sixteenth century garnered different reactions in different regions. The English government, led by King Henry VIII, initially reacted to Protestantism with hostility. English theologians and academics had disapproved of the Catholic Church's corruption for years, but they did not wish to break from the church. Instead, they hoped the institution could be convinced to reform from within.
At first, Henry was one of the Catholic Church's most prominent defenders. As Protestant ideas found their way into England, Henry enlisted the aid of Catholic theologians from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to help him formulate public rebuttals to Luther's arguments. In 1521, Leo bestowed upon Henry the title "defender of the faith." However, Henry's favor with the church was not to last. About a decade after earning the pope's prestigious title, Henry would reverse his opinion of the church and permanently change English religious society.
Overview
Unlike Luther's break with the Catholic Church in Germany, Henry's eventual quarrel with Catholicism was personal and political rather than theological. Henry had married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, in 1509. Henry and Catherine had a total of six children together, but only their daughter Mary survived to adulthood. Henry was determined to produce a male heir for the continuance of the royal line. He doubted Catherine would ever give birth to a healthy son, given that she was in her forties by the late 1520s.
To solve this problem, Henry sought a marriage annulment from the pope so he could marry Anne Boleyn, a young woman of Catherine's court. Pope Clement VII denied Henry's request. Left with no other option, Henry married Boleyn on his own in 1533. The next year, he worked with Parliament to pass the Act of Succession and Act of Supremacy. The Act of Succession made Henry and Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth—born in 1533—Henry's legitimate successor, while Mary was labeled illegitimate. The Act of Supremacy officially cut all English ties to the Catholic Church by declaring the English monarch the supreme head of the Church of England, or Anglican Church. Henry closed all Catholic monasteries in England, sold off their lands and wealth, and took the revenue for himself.
These events marked the start of the English Reformation. At the time, few people in England would have unilaterally broken from the Catholic Church as Henry had. Although many English citizens recognized the church as imperfect, few supported open hostility toward the institution. This may have been due to England's Catholic clergy being more proficient and ethical than more powerful church officials in Rome. At the same time, many English people had profited from the sudden dispersion of church wealth, and to declare loyalty to the Catholic Church would have meant openly defying Henry's will.
Because Henry never fundamentally disagreed with many of Catholicism's actual doctrines or standard practices, the Church of England was organized similarly to the Catholic Church. England was divided into dioceses, each of which was overseen by a bishop. The smallest unit in the Church of England was the parish, a single church administered by a priest. The Anglican Church acknowledged the Bible as the basis of all Christian belief but, unlike the Catholic Church, observed only those sacraments actually instituted by Jesus, namely baptism and the Eucharist.
Meanwhile, Henry's forceful introduction of Protestantism to English society set off decades of fluctuation between the new and old churches among English royalty. Edward VI—the son of Henry and another of his wives, Jane Seymour—became king upon his father's death in 1547. Edward was nine years old upon his accession to the throne, but he worked with members of the royal court to make England even more Protestant. Edward helped create new Protestant prayer books, devised a new order of service for English liturgies, and removed more Catholic property from churches.
Henry's daughter Mary, whom Henry had restored to the royal line of succession in the 1540s, became queen upon Edward's death in 1553. She spent her five-year reign restoring Catholicism to England. Mary's death in 1558 led Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry and Boleyn, to become queen. Elizabeth once again returned England to Anglicanism.
The English Reformation ultimately succeeded in making England a predominantly Protestant country. The Church of England remained the nation's state church into the twenty-first century.
Bibliography
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