by: chris kazun
 King of England from
1509-1547
 Highly educated
 spoke French, English
and Latin
 Devout Catholic
 Detested Protestantism
 Hated Martin Luther
 Henry betrothed to
Catherine of Aragon
 Spanish-English alliance
 Problem: She was the
widow of Henry’s
brother
 Was Henry’s sister by
marriage
 Pope Leo X wrote a
dispensation allowing
the marriage
 1521
 Wrote a pamphlet which condemned Martin Luther
and his ideas
 “Defence of the Seven Sacraments” by Henry VIII
 Given the title “Defender of the Faith” by Pope Leo X
“ We have in this little book, gentle reader, clearly
demonstrated, I hope, how absurdly and impiously Luther
has handled the holy sacraments. …that others may
understand how false and wicked his doctrine is, lest they
might be so far deceived as to have a good opinion of
him…”
“…it is evident to all men what sacrilegious opinions he has
of the sacrament of our Lord's Body, from which the
sanctity of all the other sacraments flow: who would have
doubted, if I had said nothing else, how unworthily,
without scruple, he treats all the rest of the sacraments?”
“he so undervalues customs, doctrine, manners, laws,
decrees and faith of the church (yea, the whole church
itself) that he almost denies there is any such thing as a
church, except perhaps such a one as himself makes up of
two or three heretics, of whom himself is chief…”
 Catherine only bore him
one surviving child
 Mary (1516–1558)
 Other children had died
in infancy
 Needed a male heir to
succeed to the throne
 Without an heir civil
war was likely
 Felt God was punishing
him for marrying his
brothers widow
 Desired Pope to grant an annulment of his marriage to
Catherine
 Annulment declares marriage invalid – it never took
place
 Pope Clement VII (cousin of Leo X) refused to grant
the annulment
 Reasons:
 Church was convinced marriage was legal
 papal dispensation had been issued to allow marriage to
begin with
 Pope needed to be cautious politically
 Catherine's nephew was Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V
 Pope refused to annul the marriage
 Henry married Anne,
1533
 Archbishop of
Canterbury annulled
Henry’s marriage to
Catherine in 1533
 Anne also had trouble
producing a male heir
 Only surviving child was
Elizabeth (1533-1603)
 King of England was made supreme head of the
Church in England
 Pope no longer had any religious authority in England
 Anne Boleyn was recognized as Queen
 All English subjects required to take oath of allegiance
to the king
 Those who didn’t were imprisoned
 Speaking out against Act of Supremacy = execution
 Generally cheerful with
great sense of humor
 Humanist – emphasis on
the value of humans and
human actions
 Lawyer
 Became increasingly close to
Henry
 Was often asked for
counsel/advice
 Henry respected him
greatly
 Chancellor of England
(highest gov’t official)
 Followed policies of the
King
 Refused to recognize
Henry’s marriage to Anne
Boleyn
 Refused to take the oath
 Never spoke for or against
Act of Supremacy
 Remained loyal to the
king, but did not renounce
the pope
 2 reasons for refusal:
 violated scripture
 Violated Magna Carta
 Imprisoned in Tower of
London for a year
 Henry tried to get him to
change his mind
 Trial was held in
Parliament
 False testimony used
 Thomas declared his
support of the pope
 Convicted of treason
 Beheaded
To executioner: "Pluck up
thy spirits, man, and be
not afraid to do thine
office. My neck is very
short. Take heed,
therefore, thou not strike
awry for saving thine
honesty. I die the King's
good servant and God's
first."
 Established Anglican Church (Church of England)
 Despite breaking with Rome, Henry remained extremely
conservative
 The statements of faith and practice he approved were
very Catholic
 Big difference was rejecting pope’s authority
 Maintained:
 Transubstantiation
 Sacrament of penance
 Celibacy of clergy (priests not marrying)
 Rejected Luther’s teachings
 Always saw himself as a good Catholic
 Edward VI – Henry’s only
son (died age 15)
 His ministers tried to turn
England into a Lutheran
state
 Mary I (“Bloody Mary”)
 Re-established
Catholicism
 Executed hundreds of
Anglicans
 Elizabeth I
 Solidified the dominance
of Anglicanism
 Incorporated bits and
pieces of Protestant belief