Head of the Church time of the English Reformation, Henry VIII took for himself the title of Supreme Head of the Church of England, which was theologically problematic; his daughter Elizabeth I changed this to Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Presbyterian system, codified in the Westminster Standards, outlines teaching elders (Ministers) and ruling elders, and courts presided over by Moderators sitting "primus inter pares", and gives practical effect to the concept of the equal status of all believers behind the one and only head of the church - Jesus Christ. This gives rise to the famous (or infamous) section of the
Supreme Head of the Church of England the charge that the monarchy was claiming divinity or usurping Christ, whom the Bible explicitly identifies as Head of the Church. Supreme Head of the Church of England The Supreme Head of the Church of England was a title created in 1531 for King Henry VIII of England, who was responsible for the foundation of the English Protestant church that broke away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry in 1538 over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 confirmed the King's status as having supremacy over the