The Reformation in England
King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon because he was in love with Anne Boleyn, who was a lady-in-waiting. The reason that the English Reformation was started was because Henry wanted an annulment of his marriage from Pope Clement VII, but the pope didn’t do it because he had to listen to Emperor Charles V, who just so happened to be Catherine’s nephew. Because of this, the king decided to get rid of Cardinal Wolsey, who had been helping him get the annulment from the Pope.
The King then received 2 new agents: Thomas Cranmer, who was the archbishop of Canterbury beginning in 1532, and Thomas Cromwell, who became the chief secretary for the king. These two men told Henry to skip the Pope, and to get an annulment from the English church courts. In order to do this, Parliament had to establish that the English church was no longer submissive to the papacy or to Rome. Henry wanted to get married as soon as possible because he had married Anne in January of 1533 without anyone knowing, and she was pregnant. Right after that, in May, Thomas Cranmer announced the marriage to Catherine was annulled, and his marriage to Anne was legitimate. Henry was unhappy that Anne’s child was a girl, but they nonetheless had a child, and her name was Elizabeth.
The Act of Supremacy was passed in 1534 by Parliament, saying the English church was officially broken apart from the Catholic Church. It also said that the ruler of England had supreme political and ecclesiastical power. The Treason Act was also passed to make sure that no one would deny the power of the king in church matters. Thomas More, however, was able to see the connection: the loyalty to the Pope was essentially treason in England. Thomas More did not accept these new ways, and was duly tried. He could not accept the fact that the English political power could also make decisions for the church. Because of his beliefs, on July 6, 1535, More was beheaded.
The King then received 2 new agents: Thomas Cranmer, who was the archbishop of Canterbury beginning in 1532, and Thomas Cromwell, who became the chief secretary for the king. These two men told Henry to skip the Pope, and to get an annulment from the English church courts. In order to do this, Parliament had to establish that the English church was no longer submissive to the papacy or to Rome. Henry wanted to get married as soon as possible because he had married Anne in January of 1533 without anyone knowing, and she was pregnant. Right after that, in May, Thomas Cranmer announced the marriage to Catherine was annulled, and his marriage to Anne was legitimate. Henry was unhappy that Anne’s child was a girl, but they nonetheless had a child, and her name was Elizabeth.
The Act of Supremacy was passed in 1534 by Parliament, saying the English church was officially broken apart from the Catholic Church. It also said that the ruler of England had supreme political and ecclesiastical power. The Treason Act was also passed to make sure that no one would deny the power of the king in church matters. Thomas More, however, was able to see the connection: the loyalty to the Pope was essentially treason in England. Thomas More did not accept these new ways, and was duly tried. He could not accept the fact that the English political power could also make decisions for the church. Because of his beliefs, on July 6, 1535, More was beheaded.
The New Order
Cromwell helped the king to keep the nation in financial stability, so by 1536, about 400 religious houses and monasteries were closed down. The king then took the land for himself and then sold it to noblemen. This brought in a lot of money for the king, which meant he was now safe. Even though the Church of England had separated from the Catholic Church, almost everything stayed the same in terms of doctrine and theology. Other people wanted reforms, but Henry VIII did not agree with their opinions and ideas. Some priests did just go behind his back, however, and got married. Towards the end of Henry’s reign, he was involved in many foreign affairs, and less church and local affairs. He also became tired of Anne Boleyn, and so he accused her of adultery and had her beheaded in 1536, only to replace her with another wife, Seymour. She was able to give him a male heir, even though she died just 12 days after giving birth. He then married Anne of Cleves, for governmental and political reasons. He didn’t like the way she looked, so he decided to divorce her shortly after their marriage. After that, he married Catherine Howard, who was much more beautiful than Anne, but did not have very high morals. She cheated on him, and so he had her beheaded. Then, in 1543, he married his final wife, Catherine Parr. Henry VIII was survived by his son Edward VI, who was sick and young. Because Edward was so young, England was ruled by a council of regency. Since Henry was gone, Cranmer and others decided it was time for church reforms. They worked with Parliament in order to legalize the marriage of the clergy, as well as new Protestant liturgy and the ridding of images. The new liturgy was contained in a book called the Book of Common Prayer. All of the sudden change did help with the later reaction that would take place when Mary took the throne.
Reaction Under Mary
Henry’s daughter, Mary, was a Catholic who wanted to go back to the old Catholic ways and to restore England. Many people were against the idea, however. Many people felt bad because she married Philip II, who was the son of Charles V, and also the heir to the Spanish throne. People in England hated Philip, and because Mary was an ally of Spain, many people were mad at her. She also had 300 Protestant heretic burned, which only caused more opposition, and earned her the nickname “bloody Mary.” Instead of returning England to Catholicism, Mary had just strengthened the resolve of the Protestants. When Mary finally died in 1558, all hope of returning to Catholicism had vanished.