English Reformation

When the Lutheran revolt occurred in Germany England’s King Henry VIII wrote against the movement. The pope was pleased and gave the king the title of “Defender of the Faith.” Things fell apart when he fell for Anne Boleyn, a maid of honor of Queen Catherine of Aragon, whom he had married for the sake of an alliance with Spain. Because the special consent of the pope had been required for the marriage, a papal dispensation was necessary for an annulment. The pope was unwilling to grant the annulment because of how it would impact his relationship with Emperor Charles V, who was Catherine’s nephew. Cardinal Wolsey, Henry’s minister, was unable to get the pope’s consent and in his impatience, Henry declared himself the head of the Church in England and got the divorce through an English court. By this act of rebellion from Rome Henry rejected the ecclesiastical authority of the papacy. This change of headship of the English Church, however, did not mean that England became Protestant. It was in effect a nationalization of the Catholic Church. But it proved to be the first step in a series which in the end would take England away from its Catholic allegiance. Even the forceful policy of the king might not have carried the nation with him had it not been for other forces that were at work to undermine Catholicism. The remaining influence of Wycliffe and his Bible was one of these. A second was the effect of the Lutheran movement and of the writings of Luther, which found their way to England in spite of their blacklisting by Church authorities. A third influence was men like William Tyndale, translator of the first modern English Bible, and John Colet, an Oxford professor who used the New Testament as a basis for his lectures. A fourth cause was the popular dissatisfaction with the immorality of the priests and bishops for it was plain that the Church was squeezing all the money possible out of the pockets of the people.

Impact: The cumulative effect of these various influences prepared the public mind for Henry’s act of rebellion. Parliament was submissive enough to the king’s will to ratify his action and vote him the title of Supreme Head of the Church of England. It transferred to him the power of appointment of the higher clergy. Appeals to Rome were abolished and the dispensing power was given to the Archbishop of Canterbury. By these specific acts, the separation from Rome was made complete by 1535.