Later English Reformation

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This was an ugly time in which the political head of the church was a bit of an embarrassment. However, Thomas Cranmer and other Archbishops of Canterbury were molding this new Anglicanism (Church of England) in a way that didn’t completely separate with Catholic tradition, but gave it a distinctly English flavor.

For instance, they used the English Bible in their worship services, but they retained the sacraments of the Catholic Church. They allowed their priests to get married and did away with monasteries, but the structure and order of the church followed the old Catholic ways.

Henry VIII brings about many changes in England that separate them from the Catholic Church in Rome, but after his death, his throne is left to his children. Henry was married 6 times and you can see the chart below that lists the marriages and children and the causes for separation.

Wife 1 – Catherine of Aragon

  • Married 1509-1533 (24 years)
  • Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain
  • Originally married Henry’s brother, Arthur.
  • Although pregnant many times, only one child survived, Mary.
  • Marriage annulled in 1533

Wife 2 – Anne Boleyn

  • Married 1533 – 1536 (3 years)
  • Henry broke from the Catholic church to marry her in secret.
  • She was originally a servant in the queen’s household.
  • Gave birth to one baby girl, Elizabeth.
  • Beheaded in 1536 for unfaithfulness

Wife 3 – Jane Seymour

  • Married for just 1 year (1537)
  • From an old and noble family
  • Gave Henry his only male heir, Edward.
  • Died just 12 days after giving birth.

Wife 4 – Anne of Cleaves

  • Married for just 6 months in 1540.
  • Henry agreed to the marriage after looking at a painting of Anne.
  • The painting looked much better than Anne.
  • They didn’t like each other and the wedding ended in annulment.

Wife 5 – Catherine Howard

  • Married for 2 years (1540-1542)
  • Catherine was 19 when they were married (Henry was 49!)
  • Catherine was found to have secret lovers
  • She was beheaded with them in 1542.

Wife 6 – Catherine Parr

  • Either he really liked the name Catherine or it was just super popular
  • Married for 4 years until his death (1543-1547)
  • At the end of his life, Henry was in very poor health.
  • He was extremely fat and had to be carried everywhere by servants.
  • She argued with him about religion.

Edward VI

At Edward VI’s coronation in 1547, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer urged the nine-year-old Head of the Church of England to follow the example of Josiah (2 Kings 22), the young king of ancient Judah, in seeing God truly worshipped and idolatry destroyed.

Edward would go on to quicken the pace of his father’s religious reforms, particularly in the area of icons. Edward VI would be an iconoclast and sought to remove all the visual symbols of connection to the church of Rome. Under his short reign, Catholics were treated very badly and Catholic bishops were locked up.

Bloody Mary

Under Queen Mary I (1553-1558), England returned to its previously Catholic position. Mary was a devout Catholic and she sought to undo all of the reforms that her father had begun. The pope became the head of the church again, church services were again conducted in Latin.

During the last three years of her reign, at least 300 protestants who would not accept Catholic beliefs, including Thomas Cranmer, were burned to death at the stake. This earned Mary the nickname, “Bloody Mary.” If she lived longer, we might not have the same protestant heritage in America today, but as it was she died and Elizabeth took power.

Elizabeth

Under Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), England was again a Protestant nation. It was under Elizabeth that the Anglican church (Church of England) became firmly established and dominant. However, Elizabeth did her best to sort out the problem of religious choice.

Elizabeth wanted England to have peace and not be divided over religion. She tried to find ways which both the Catholic and Protestant sides would accept and be happy. She did not call herself the Head of the Church of England. Instead, she was known as the “Supreme Governor of the English Church.”

Although Elizabeth insisted on protestant beliefs, she still allowed many things from the Catholic religion such as bishops, ordained priests, church decorations and priests’ vestments. She also produced a prayer book in English, but allowed a Latin edition to be printed.

Watch the video above and post a comment in the comment box at the bottom of the page with your thoughts on the rocky beginning of the Church of England.