The Characteristics of the Henrician Reformation
The Characteristics of the Henrician Reformation In 1534, when Henry VIII decided to separate England from Rome, he did so for both political and personal reasons. We can identify Henry’s political reasoning because he wanted to consolidate his power as King. His personal reasoning is simply that he wanted to secure an heir to the throne. I am focusing on the political reasoning for this paper. At that time, Henry was deciding to separate England from Rome, public opinion viewed the Church’s representation as worldly, corrupt and immoral. The Pope’s power was used for personal advantage and benefit not for the spiritual development of the people or country but for the benefit of the higher clergy. Lower clergy was leading a life of misery and poverty, while the higher clergymen lived a life of wealth and pleasure. With all of these discontentment and resentment, it was an optimum time for Henry to make his change. Using the people’s resentment and cry for change, Henry VIII boldly took major steps to put an end to growing power of the church and consolidate his power. He took necessary steps to limit the power of the clergy in the English church by destroying monasteries and enacting laws that were to be followed by the church authorities. The substance of these laws mandated that a priest could be associated with a single church only and that the Pope was to be elected by the clergy who were nominated by the King. In the end, the English church was separated from the Roman church and the communities of Christians were split into two camps: the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. The Henrician Reformation is characterized by the monarchy and the Church of England being fundamentally reshaped. I believe that this reshaping was distinguished by two categories: (1) Act of Supremacy; and (2) The dissolution of the monasteries. I. Act of Supremacy Henry VIII 's plan for Reformation was made clear through the Act of
Cited: Ban, Joseph D. “English Reformation: Product of King or Minister?” Church History, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Jun., 1972), pp. 186-197. Ryrie, Alec. The Age of Reformation: The Tudor and Stewart Realms 1485-1603. Harlow: Pearson, 2009. Wooding, Lucy. “Henry VIII and Religion”. History Review, Dec 2008, Issue 62, p42-47. ----------------------- [1] Wooding, Lucy. Henry VIII and Religion. History Review, Dec 2008, Issue 62, p 45. [2] Alec Ryrie, The Age of Reformation: The Tudor and Stewart Realms 1485-1603. Harlow: Pearson, 2009, p. 128. [3] Ban, Joseph D., English Reformation: Product of King or Minister? Church History, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Jun., 1972), pp. 186-197 [4] Wooding, at 47. [5] Ryrie, pp. 134-135. [6] Ryrie, p. 131.