Church of England Facts & Worksheets

• • Assertion of royal supremacyHenry VIII, advised by key figures such as Thomas Cromwell, pushed for a redefinition of ecclesiastical authority in England. He sought to make himself the supreme head of the Church in England, thereby removing papal authority. This move was formalised by a series of legislative acts passed by the English Parliament.

Key events of England’s separation from papal authority:

• Henry VIII sought annulment
  • In 1526, Henry VIII started seeking an end to his marriage to Catherine in secret. At the time, it was unlikely that Catherine would bear any more children. The king had given up on his marriage and was already interested in Anne Boleyn.
  • Henry VIII told Catherine that he wanted an annulment from the pope. This would enable him to marry as if for the first time and produce an heir to secure the Tudor dynasty. However, Catherine remained firm in protecting her marriage.
  • In 1529, a court opened at Blackfriars to decide on the validity of the marriage.
  • The pope delayed and ultimately refused the annulment, partly due to political pressure from Catherine’s nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
• Secret union
  • In January 1533, Thomas Cranmer, who was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated the secret union of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
  • Anne was already pregnant prior to the union and was due in September. It became necessary for the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon to be declared null and void.
• Establishment of royal supremacy over the Church
  • Passed in 1533, the Act for the Restraint of Appeals prohibited all appeals to the pope in Rome on religious or other matters, asserting that England was an independent sovereign jurisdiction in spiritual affairs. This meant that the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine could not be nullified by the pope but only by the English court.
  • The First Act of Succession (1534) was passed, making Henry VIII and Catherine’s marriage invalid. Consequently, their child Princess Mary was declared illegitimate, securing the succession for the children of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Moreover, the act made it an act of treason to deny the succession and the whole nation was required to swear an oath to observe it.
  • Parliament enacted the Act of Supremacy (1534), declaring Henry VIII the ‘Supreme Head of the Church of England’. It established that the pope had no authority whatsoever over the religious aspects of the country. Moreover, the king also acquired the powers that were previously held by the pope.
• Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–41)
  • The Crown ordered the closure and dismantling of monasteries, priories, convents and friaries. Their lands and wealth were confiscated by the Crown, weakening traditional Catholic institutions. By 1540, 552 monasteries and religious houses had been dismantled at a rate of around 50 per month.
  • The dissolution of the monasteries was met with both support and opposition. Protestants, as well as many nobles, were in approval of the policy. The king’s supporters benefitted from the policy as they were granted the monastic estates. Many commoners were also pleased to see the back of those covetous and corrupt priests and monks who had blighted their villages. 
  • On the other hand, there was a significant proportion of the population opposed to the closing down of the monasteries. In fact, this policy instigated a series of rebellions known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.
• Doctrinal changes
  • In June 1536, the English clergy under Henry VIII gave sanction to the Ten Articles, the first doctrinal statement of the Church of England. Five of the articles related to doctrines and five to ceremonies.
  • Shortly thereafter, a set of Injunctions to the clergy (1536) was issued. They were designed to give practical effect to changes in doctrinal emphasis.
  • This was followed by a second set of Injunctions in 1538, which was more radical than the first.
  • In 1539, the Great Bible, authorised by Henry VIII, was published in English and placed in churches for laypeople to read, increasing access to scripture. Its title page visually represented Henry VIII’s role as the Supreme Head of the Church, independent of the pope’s authority in Rome.
• The Church of England’s break from Rome transformed it from a regional branch of the Catholic Church under papal authority into a national church under the English monarch’s supremacy. The Church of England had witnessed many religious changes in the years between 1536 and 1547. By 1547, the Church, which Henry VIII wished his son Prince Edward to inherit, had established a clear doctrine and liturgy. On his death, Henry VIII believed that he had secured the Tudor dynasty, had established himself an equal of any European prince, and had founded the doctrinally true religion in England.

Post-Henrician Reformation and later developments

• Whilst the break with Rome occurred concurrently with the broader Reformation movement in Europe, the Church of England did not immediately embrace the Protestant theology emerging on the continent. However, following Henry VIII’s death, the Church of England shifted decisively towards Protestantism during the reign of his son, Edward VI. Significant ecclesiastical, social and political changes also followed over the centuries.

Post-Henrician Reformation

• Edward VI, aged nine at accession, came under the influence of Protestant regents and theologians.
• His religious policy, which provided for the significant shift towards Protestantism in England, was characterised by the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer (1549) by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, abolition of clerical celibacy, and the removal of several Roman Catholic traditions. 
• During the approximately five-year reign of Mary I, who was a staunch Roman Catholic, she reversed the reforms of Edward VI and reinstated papal supremacy and Roman Catholic mass.
• Her reign was marked by the persecution of Protestants, in which over 280 were executed, leading to her moniker, ‘Bloody Mary’. It was her goal to bring the Church of England back into line with Rome.

• Elizabeth I succeeded to the English throne in 1558 and resolved the fractious situation of the Church in what became known as the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. The Settlement aimed to create religious stability through a ‘middle way’ between Roman Catholicism and radical Protestantism. The conformity enforced by the Settlement was challenged by both Catholic Recusants and Puritans.
• Other key developments during her reign included the passage of the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity (1559), the adoption of the Thirty-Nine Articles in 1571, and enforcement through ecclesiastical courts and bishops.

Conflict and restoration in the 17th century

• Conflicts between royalists, who were supporters of episcopacy, and parliamentarians, many of whom were Puritan, led to the English Civil Wars (1642–51) and the Commonwealth (1649–60).
• During the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, the monarchy and the Church of England were both dismantled. Additionally, the Book of Common Prayer was outlawed, and many clergy were ejected.
• Following the failure of Cromwell’s regime, Charles II restored the Church of England with episcopal governance. 
• In an attempt to suppress religious dissent and establish the Church of England as the dominant religious institution following the restoration of the monarchy, a series of restrictive laws known as the Clarendon Code were enacted between 1661 and 1665.

Rationalism and evangelicalism in the 18th century

• The Church’s influence on English religious life started to weaken in this period.
• The Church grew more aligned with reason and moderation, minimising disagreements regarding doctrine.
• Clerics associated with the Evangelical revival sparked a renewed zeal for religion and highlighted the Church’s Protestant roots.

Reform and religious revival in the 19th century

• The Evangelical movement, which focused on personal faith and missionary work, continued to grow. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Catholic Oxford movement emerged in the first half of the century and sought to recover Catholic elements of Anglicanism. These two attitudes persisted in the Church and were often referred to as low church and high church, respectively.
• The Broad Church movement also rose to prominence, which emphasised inclusive theology and engagement with modern society.
• The Church became increasingly involved in education, poor relief and social reform.

Modernisation and inclusivity in the 20th century

• The Church made impressive efforts to update liturgy and promote unity among Christian denominations and participated in ecumenical movements, especially after the Second World War.
• This period marked a major shift towards gender inclusivity, as women began to be ordained as priests in 1994.

The Church of England in the 21st century

• The Church of England is the national church of England and the mother church of the global Anglican Communion. It follows Anglican doctrine, balancing Catholic traditions with Protestant reforms. Its key theological statements include the Thirty-Nine Articles, which outline belief in salvation by grace through faith and recognition of two primary sacraments such as baptism and holy communion. It accommodates three differing theological traditions: the Evangelical, the Catholic and the Liberal. Additionally, services are conducted using the Book of Common Prayer (first published in 1549) and the Common Worship (2000).