What had Henry VIII got to do with the Church?

Answer 1

Henry was a king more famous for his six wives than for his turbulent yet effective rule, which took England from obscurity to being a major world power.

Henry became heir to the throne, aged eleven, in 1492, when his elder brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, died suddenly. Arthur had been married to Catherine of Aragon, but the marriage had only lasted a short while and apparently never consummated. Henry’s father needed the alliance with Catherine’s father, the king of Spain and so Catherine was kept at the English court to be married to Henry, when he came of age. When Henry came to the throne, aged 18, he immediately married Catherine.

Henry’s reign was noted for stability and prosperity at home, due to a foreign policy based on avoiding foreign conflict. Henry and his ministers played off the two major powers in Europe, France and Spain, by making brief alliances with one or the other, or another power, as best suited the moment.

At Henry’s court, there were numerous factions, each trying to gain influence. Although England was Catholic and Henry himself was a devout Catholic, many at court had sympathies with the Protestant cause. Henry had no male heir but only a daughter, Mary, later Mary I, with Catherine. He was persuaded to seek an annulment of his marriage on the grounds that it was unlawful to marry one’s brother’s wife. The pope refused Henry’s request, preferring to side with Spain and Catherine’s relatives, for political reasons. At this, Henry was convinced to make a break with Rome. The Act of Supremacy made the king the head of the church in England. England was still Catholic but the king ran church affairs. The Act of Appeals declared that England was ‘an empire’, that is a sovereign state. Henry had made England into a nation state, independent of all foreign powers. The way was now clear for Henry to divorce Catherine.

Henry then married Anne Boleyn, by whom he had a daughter Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I. When that marriage failed, he married Jane Seymour and had his male heir, Edward, later Edward VI. Henry went through a succession of marriages, none of them successful. He left a male heir who took the throne aged nine and two daughters who became queens in turn. During Edward’s reign, his ministers made England Protestant. In Mary’s time, England reverted to Catholicism and when Elizabeth succeeded, England turned back to Protestantism. Henry thought he had left the succession clear and the land safe but, in fact, his marriages had brought turmoil.

Answer 2

Henry VIII was king of England from 1509 to 1547, the dates will be helpful in understanding his relations with the Church. Henry was a devout Catholic; he went to many masses and was obedient to the Pope. As of 1517 there was one Christian church in the West, the Catholic (Catholic means universal). Martin Luther led the break from this Church first over indulgences in 1517, and later over doctrines, such as papal infalliability, priests not being allowed to marry, and confession being required to a priest. From then into the 1520s Henry VIII supported the Catholic Church, even writing a book defending it, which earned the English king the title, "Defender of the Faith."

Events changed in the 1530s, however. Henry VIII did not have a male heir. At that time it was not certain that a female could take the throne. Henry desired a certainity on his successor, since of the War of the Roses and Tudors winning the throne by battle was a recent event. This was a problem since his wife Catherine of Aragon had become barren. Henry wanted Pope Clement VII to grant an annullment of the marriage (there actually were technical reasons that could have justified this). Henry did have one not so noble motive--he was in love with Anne Boleyn.

If the pope had granted the annullment it would have angered Catherine of Aragon's powerful uncle, Charles V of Spain, and the Holy Roman Emperor. When Clement did not grant the annullment, Henry broke from Rome, and had his own archbishop and head of the English Church do it. At that point Henry VIII broke with the Church. Unlike with Luther, Henry's motives were personal and not over doctrine.

As a result, the Anglican or Church of England, had a limited Protestant Reformation. It is closer to the Roman Catholic Church than are most other protestant churches. The Anglican Church did have some some reforms, such as the dissolution of monasteries, but even this was largely political in nature. British Parliament also approved of Henry's splitting from Rome.

Answer 3

Henry VIII founded the Church of England after the Roman church refused to grant him a divorce. Subsequently, The reigning monarch of Great Britain is also the head of the Church of England.

Hope this clears it up for you.

Answer 4

The pope had awarded him the title "Defender of the Faith" for a paper he wrote against Martin Luther's ideas. However, when Henry wanted an annulment from his marriage because it hadn't produced a male heir the pope refused. ("No male heir" is not a valid reason for annulment, but there were also political reasons for the pope's refusal; he was afraid of the Queen's nephew, who was the Holy Roman Emperor.) Henry declared independence from the pope and did it anyway. He declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England. This was later changed to Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a title still held by English monarchs, even though the government of the modern UK does not control the Church of England.
Branches of the Church of England in other countries are called Episcopalian or Anglican.

Answer 5

Henry was a hero for starting the Church of England in England, and no longer taking orders from the intolerant Catholic church of Rome.

Answer 6

Henry VIII acually got the pope fired and made himself over the church/head of it. The Pope wouldn't let him get divorced from his wife because she couldn't have a children and he wanted someone to have the thrown after him. So he just got rid of the Pope, and got divorced. He went through many wives until he got a child... great guy huh?

Answer 7

Basically, he replaced the Pope as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England; subsequently, changing the name to the Church of England.

Why?

So he could divorce his wife(ves), of course.

Answer 8

He created his own church, the Church of England.

Answer 9

He wanted to divorce his wife, but of course the Church frowned on that, so he created the Anglican Church.

Answer 10

he started his own church, he did not agree with the catholic faith
and he was a serial bigamist, and general murdering bastard, no really! when the then pope refused to allow another divorce ,he whipped off the head and started the church of England,still going strong to day. LF