Henry VIII

Memo to the Anglican Church: Two faiths - one was founded by Christ, the other by a serial killer. You figure out why Rome won't let you share Holy Communion.

Headline of an article in The Daily Catholic (2001)

Links!

Henry and the Reformation - clear, well explained     

Thomas Cranmer 

 

 

The Henrician Reformation

Henry broke with the Pope, and he dissolved the monasteries, but he was not a Protestant.  

He only broke with the Pope so he could divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, and he dissolved the monasteries simply to get their wealth.  

Towards the end of his reign he passed measures known as the Six Articles which persecuted Protestants as much as Mary ever did.

 

BUT - to help him in his fight against the Roman Catholic Church - Henry had to seek help from the Protestants.  

Both Thomas Cromwell (his Chancellor) and Thomas Cranmer (his Archbishop of Canterbury) were Protestants, and during Henry's reign the Bible was translated into English.  

Henry's son Edward was given Protestant teachers and brought up as a protestant, and Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr, was a Protestant too.

 

During Henry's reign, Protestantism grew in England.

 

 

 

 

 

The title page of the Great Bible of Henry VIII, published  in 1540.   At the top, God smiles on Henry VIII as he gives the English Bible to Archbishop Cranmer on his right and to Thomas Cromwell on his left.    At the bottom left, a preacher explains it to the people, who shout "Long live the king' and 'God save the king'.    At the bottom right is a prison, for anyone who is not delighted!.

What to say:

If you are writing about religion under Henry VIII, you must mention at least: