AQA A level Breadth Study: The Tudor Dynasty - Essay titled: To what extent was the English Church in 1553 different from what it had been in 1532? (25)
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To what extent was the English Church in 1553 different from what it had been in 1532?
1532 marked the established of the independent English Church in practice as well as in theory - for
Henry VIII, it was a watershed year. In 1532 the English Church under Henry VIII was still largely
Catholic however politically it was starting to move away from Catholicism in terms of being ruled
over by the Pope which would culminate with the Act of Supremacy in 1534. Nonetheless, the
church in 1532 had not yet become doctrinally independent from the Pope, hence it was still largely
Catholic. Under Edward’s reign, the young King alongside his heavily influential advisers, Somerset
and Northumberland, largely sought to take the protestant reform, that had begun under Henry VIII,
further, but the extent to which they changed the church from what it was in 1532 is debateable.
Overall, over this time period there was clear political, doctrinal and structural change to the English
Church meaning by 1553 it was very different to the Church we saw in 1532.
Whilst there were many differences between the English Church of 1532 and the one that came to
be by 1553, there are some similarities when looking at the political aspect of the Church. The
political nature of the Church can include that between the country and the Pope and the country
and its monarch. In the case of the later, the Churches of 1553 and 1532 can be seen to be similar in
that they still shared a fairly tumultuous relationship with their monarch. In 1532, there was a lot of
animosity between Henry VIII and his Parliament because of the changes that he wanted to make.
Henry was incredibly driven to make changes to the Church, largely because he wanted to get a
divorce from Catherine of Aragon, however this resulted in the worsening of relationships with some
of his key advisers, most notably Thomas Wolsey. Despite being a hugely loyal and successful adviser
for Henry, his lack of success in regards to the King’s ‘Great Matter’ meant that he was no longer
useful and so in 1429 he was charged with praemunire – exercising Papal powers at the expense of
the King. This clearly represents a turbulent environment surrounding the political nature of the
Church. Similarly, by 1553 the Church had seen many rebellions against it due to the religious
changes that had been made, including the Western rebellion 1549. The Western Rebellion was
largely caused by the introduction of the Second Book of Common Prayer which the people
opposed. Although the rebels were defeated, it represented clear opposition and tension between
the people of the Church and the monarchy hence it can be seen that the political nature of the
Church was still fairly volatile. Consequently, the political nature of the Church in 1553 can partly be
seen to be similar to that of 1532.
However, by 1553 the Church in England was very different, politically, to what it had been in 1532
as it no longer had a relation with the Pope and Rome. Henry VIII passed many Acts in Parliament
which resulted in the gradual separation from Rome and Catholicism meaning by Edward’s death in
1553, the English Church no longer had a relationship with Rome. For example, the Act in
Conditional Restraint of Annates 1532 prevented the payment of Bishop’s fees to Romer and in 1533
the Act in Restraint of Appeals was passed which meant that all appeals had to be heard by English
courts meaning Henry was now the highest legal authority in England. These acts demonstrate a
political separation from Rome as it reduced the control the Pope had over the English Church both
financially and the way in which it was conducted. The most significant Act passed was that of the
Act of Supremacy in 1534 which declared that Henry was ‘the only supreme head on earth of the
Church of England’. The Act of Supremacy was particularly significant when assessing political
change within the English Church. It meant that Henry now had complete administrative and
legislative control of the Church in England and the Pope’s name was struck out of all prayer books.
In 1536 this Act was further solidified by the Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome
which officially removed all Papal power in England. In 1532, the Church in England still had a firm
relationship with the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome, however it is clear that these Acts
passed during Henry VIII’s reign meant that political relations with the Catholic Church had been
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