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England became a part of the reformation more through politics than theological debate. King Henry VIII (1509-47) needed an heir to the throne and with his wife was unable to produce one. The Pope would not grant a divorce and so Henry convinced Parliament to declare him head of the Church in England. Henry’s daughter, Mary Tudor was a staunch Catholic and persecuted the Protestants. When Henry’s other daughter, Elizabeth, inherited the throne, she tolerated the Protestants just enough so as not to irritate the Pope. When the English fleet defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, the Anglican Church permanently replaced the Catholic one in England.
(Below is an excerpt from the biography of Henry VIII)
In 1534 Henry VIII was declared head of the English Church. People had to swear an oath that in future they would obey Henry as head of the church. More refused and he was convicted of high treason. Still refusing to recant, he was executed at the Tower of London on 6 July 1535.
The Pope and the Catholic church in Rome were horrified when they heard the news that Henry had destroyed St. Thomas Becket's Shrine. On 17 December 1538, the Pope announced to the Christian world that Henry VIII had been excommunicated from the Catholic church.
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What economic reasons were there for Henry VIII to break away from the Roman Catholic Church?
When Henry became Head of the Church in England, he confiscated property which had previously belonged to the Catholic Church. The wealth then became part of the Royal Treasury.
Whose divorce request finalized the break with the Catholic Church and led to the English reformation?
Henry VIII
Did Henry VII have a reason to break with the church?
Is this question about Henry the 8th or the 7th? Henry the 8th broke with the Catholic church simply because the Vatican would not allow an annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon.
Who did Henry VIII want to marry badly to prompt his break with the Roman Catholic Church?
I think it was Anne Boelyn
Why did the Lutheran church break away from the Catholic Church?
.Catholic AnswerThe Lutheran Ecclesial Community did not "break away" from the Catholic Church. It was founded by Martin Luther, a heretic who left the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century and was excommunicated.
