henry viii changed the church in england from catholic to protestant.
henry viii changed the church in england from catholic to protestant.
who changed the church in england from catholic to protestant?
henry viii
in 1534, however, during the reign of king henry viii, the church, through a series of legislative acts between 1533 and 1536, became independent of the holy see for a period as a national church with henry declaring himself supreme head. this breach was in response to the pope's refusal to annul henry's marriage to catherine of aragon. although henry did not himself accept protestant innovations in doctrine or liturgy, he nevertheless extended toleration, and even promotion, to clergy with protestant sympathies in return for support for his break with rome. on the other hand, failure to accept this break, particularly by prominent persons in church and state, was regarded by henry as treason, resulting in the execution of thomas more, former lord chancellor, and john fisher, bishop of rochester, among others. the see of rome act 1536 enforced the separation from rome, while the pilgrimage of grace of 1536 and bigod's rebellion of 1537, risings in the north against the religious changes, were bloodily repressed. all through 1536-41 henry viii engaged in a large-scale dissolution of the monasteries, which controlled most of the wealth of the church and much of the richest land. he disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in england, wales and ireland, appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided pensions for the former residents. he did not turn these properties over to his national church of england. instead they were sold, mostly to pay for the wars. the historian g. w. bernard argues that the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s was one of the most revolutionary events in english history. there were nearly 900 religious houses in england, around 260 for monks, 300 for regular canons, 142 nunneries and 183 friaries; some 12,000 people in total, 4,000 monks, 3,000 canons, 3,000 friars and 2,000 nuns. one adult man in fifty was in religious orders. in the catholic narrative, henry's action was sacrilegious, a national violation of things consecrated to god, and evil. even today, henry's act is still considered controversial. anglicans like giles fraser have noted that the property "was stolen" from the roman catholic church and that "this theft of land is the really dirty stuff - the original sin of the church of england." nevertheless, henry maintained a strong preference for traditional catholic practices and, during his reign, protestant reformers were unable to make many changes to the practices of his national church, the church of england. indeed, this part of henry's reign saw the trial for heresy of protestants as well as catholics who resisted his policies.
catholic church in england and wales
while embracing some themes of the protestant reformation, the church of england also maintains catholic traditions of the ancient church and teachings of the church fathers, unless these are considered contrary to scripture. it accepts the decisions of the first four ecumenical councils concerning the trinity and the incarnation. the church of england also preserves catholic order by adhering to episcopal polity, with ordained orders of bishops, priests and deacons. there are differences of opinion within the church of england over the necessity of episcopacy. some consider it essential, while others feel it is needed for the proper ordering of the church. in sum these express the 'via media' viewpoint that the first five centuries of doctrinal development and church order as approved as acceptable be a kind of yardstick by which to gauge authentic catholicity, as minimum and sufficient; anglicanism did not emerge as the result of charismatic leaders with particular doctrines. it is light on details compared to roman catholic, reformed and lutheran teachings. the bible, the creeds, apostolic order, and the administration of the sacraments are sufficient to establish catholicity. indeed, not one major doctrinal development emerged from the english reformation, per diarmid macculloch, the later reformation in england, 1990, p. 55. the reformation in england was initially much concerned about doctrine but the elizabethan settlement tried to put a stop to doctrinal contentions. the proponents of further changes, nonetheless, tried to get their way by making changes in church order (abolition of bishops), governance (canon law) and liturgy ('too catholic'). they did not succeed because the monarchy, the church and resisted and the majority of the population were indifferent. moreover, "despite all the assumptions of the reformation founders of that church, it had retained a catholic character." the elizabethan settlement had created a cuckoo in a nest..." a protestant theology and program within a largely pre-reformation catholic structure whose continuing life would arouse a theological interest in the catholicism that had created it; and would result in the rejection of predestinarian theology in favor of sacraments, especially the eucharist, ceremonial, and anti-calvinist doctrine" (ibid pp. 78–86). the existence of cathedrals "without substantial alteration" and "where the "old devotional world cast its longest shadow for the future of the ethos that would become anglicanism," p. 79. this is "one of the great mysteries of the english reformation," ibid that there was no complete break with the past but a muddle that was per force turned into a virtue. the story of the english reformation is the tale of retreat from the protestant advance of 1550 which could not proceed further in the face of the opposition of the institution which was rooted in the medieval past, ibid. p. 142 and the adamant opposition of queen elizabeth i.
church of england