England Becomes Protestant 17.3 ctd.

Introduction The Catholic Church faced another great challenge to it’s authority, this time in England Unlike Luther, who left the Church for moral reasons, England did so for political and personal reasons

Henry VIII Wants a Son When Henry VIII became the King of England, he was a devout Catholic He even wrote a formal attack on Martin Luther for breaking up the church Still, Henry feared that he would die without having a male heir to his throne His wife, Catherine of Aragon, had one child, a daughter, Mary but no sons

King Henry and Catherine

Henry was convinced that she was done having children He wanted to divorce her and marry a younger woman, Anne Boleyn He asked the pope to annul his marriage The pope refused because divorce is not allowed in the Catholic Church So, Henry decided to take matters in his own hands

Anne Boleyn

The Reformation Parliament Henry called the British parliament in for a meeting He passed a set of laws ending the Pope’s power in England This parliament is known as the Reformation Parliament

Henry Remarries In 1533, Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn – who was in her 20s Shortly after, Parliament approved Henry’s request and wrote the Act of Supremacy This called all people to take an oath recognizing the divorce and accepting Henry as the leader of the Catholic Church in England Many people opposed this rule

One such man was Thomas More He was a devout Catholic and refused to honor Henry He was then arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London where he was executed

Thomas More and Tower of London

More Baby Drama Anne did not immediately give Henry a son, instead, she had another daughter – Elizabeth Henry then had her beheaded He married a third time to Jane Seymour – she finally bore him a son – Edward She died after giving birth Henry married 3 more times, but never having more children

Queen Elizabeth

Jane Seymour

Henry Dies When Henry died, Edward became King at the young age of 9 He instituted Protestant Reforms, making England a Protestant country He was always sick, and later died Mary, the daughter of Catherine would then take the throne and she was a Catholic She returned the Pope to power in England

She was a devout Catholic and began persecuting Protestants That is when she received the name “Bloody Mary” When she did, Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn took the throne

Bloody Mary

Elizabeth and Religion Elizabeth attempted to please both Catholics and Protestants in England She then formed the Anglican Church This church was a mix of Catholic and Protestant rituals This moderate approach helped maintain peace in England politically, but religion was still an issue