Henry Viii And Anglicanism Religion Essay

Many persons today believe that Anglicanism began with Henry VIII for his simple want of disassociating his married woman in hopes to bring forth a male inheritor. Certainly it was established in the epoch of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, nevertheless there were many other influences that contributed to the creative activity of the Church of England. These influences day of the month back to the early old ages of Christianity in the British Isles. After making much analysis on this history, it is safe to state that King Henry was non the lone Godhead of Anglicanism ; he was merely a subscriber to its formation and the concluding measure to its beginning.

It is said that among the soldiers populating in Britain, some were of Christian religion. St. Alban, the first English sufferer, was killed in 209 CE and hence the Christianity was surely present by 200 CE. In 400, when the Romans left Britain and many encroachers arrived, in the West and North the Celtic people maintained their religion and civilization. A type of Christianity grew among these persons which still influences our spiritualty to this day of the month. Gaelic Christianity dated between 400 – 1000 CE. These narratives and fables of the Celtic church are told by Saints such as: St. Ninian, St. Calumba and St. Brigit.Governed by heads or male monarchs, Celtic society was organized on tribal lines. The Gaelic church was controlled around monasteries ruled by archimandrites who ordained as priests celebrated the sacraments in the monasteries. The land for the monastery was frequently provided by the folk or household unit. By 431, Ireland had received its first bishop. The authorities of the Irish church was controlled by the archimandrites nevertheless by the 1800 ‘s.The abbeys promoted acquisition, taught the kids, and fabricated dramatic spiritual art in the manuscripts, metalwork and rock carvings. The Anglican spiritualty had a batch of influence from the Celtic spiritualty. There was a really strong sense of the presence of God in mundane life of the Celtic Christians. In all of their day-to-day activities, God is found. There are a huge sum of supplications from the Celtics that have these illustrations. There is an illustration in the book A World Made Whole ( Fount, 1991 ) : “ I will inflame my fire this forenoon, In the presence of the holy angels of Eden ” . This quotation mark from the supplication shows that God is in their mundane lives, God is non forgotten. The goodness of nature and of human nature are a portion of true Celtic beliefs. It see ‘s human as being full of possible and made in God ‘s image. Jesus came to liberate our universe from its evil forces. This is an optimistic position tantrums good with the Anglican apprehension of creative activity, embodiment, and salvation. Gaelic Christianity has a strong sense of the integrity. It insists that we are encircled on our pilgrim’s journey by dependably Christian persons of an earlier epoch. God, the Trinity, the saints of old-all are near us and are ever accessible to us in our supplications. Gaelic Christianity is full of narratives, images, art and music. With the reaching of St. Augustine at Canterbury in 597, Roman Christianity returned to Britain. This tradition and signifier of authorities spread throughout England steadily. Although Gaelic Christianity was easy concealed by Roman pattern, many imposts and traditions were kept.

It was an epoch of alteration and convulsion in the church during the 1500-1600s in Europe. There was dissatisfaction with apostolic authorities and maltreatments of church traditions. Furthermore the handiness of new interlingual renditions of Bible from Latin into other linguistic communications fashioned a craving to look over the lineage of the Christian religion and a desire to return to the rudimentss of Christian thoughts. In Europe single figures like Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and Martin Luther encouraged doctrinal and organisational reform. England knew of the attempt of these reformists and had the Scriptures in English. However, the church was non highly affected by them. In world Henry VIII received from the Pope in 1521 the rubric “ Defender of the Faith ” for his paper knocking Martin Luther. However, the King was traveling through some political troubles. His matrimony of about 20 old ages to Catherine of Aragon had produced merely one life kid, their girl Mary. Henry became progressively disquieted because he needed a male inheritor for the throne. Henry decided to disassociate his married woman and that he was traveling to get married Anne Boleyn. Procuring an revocation and obtaining a apostolic dispensation to remarry was non an impossible petition, nevertheless it made Henry dying. But European political relations launched a debatable factor ; Catherine ‘s nephew was the Emperor Charles V. The Pope was being threatened by the Emperor and so could non allow Henry ‘s petition. Henry decided so to take the church in England from the control of foreign powers. Acts of Parliament were passed, Henry ‘s matrimony was declared invalid, and he married Anne Boleyn. The Pope quickly removed Henry. “ To derive [ a boy ] , he separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church and so established the Protestant Reformation in England ” . Henry took lifting control of the church, suspending the monasteries and traveling their wealths to the Crown and declared himself the caput of the church in England. Henry ordered the English Bible located in all churches but stayed really conservative in affairs of religious traditions. Henry was succeeded in 1547 by his boy Edward VI. Edward had been well-informed by instructors with Protestant apprehension. Throughout his reign the church was increasingly more influenced by Lutheran and Calvinist tradition. In 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer, drawn up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was certified. The Act of Uniformity made its usage obligatory in all churches in England. This book has become the normative statement of Anglican divinity and pattern. The book was a via media between diehards and reformists. In 1552, a 2nd Book of Common Prayer was issued. It followed more Protestant political orientations. During the reign of Edward VI, many Articles were published to place the place of the Church of England on a huge sum of issues. This was an effort to specify a connexion between the Old Catholic ways and the new Genevan reforms. The 42 Articles were proposed in 1552 and these were non accepted. However in 1559, during the reign of Elizabeth, the Thirty-nine Articles were accepted as a balanced statement of the Anglican place on certain unsure issues. Edward was so succeeded by his half sister Mary. As the girl of Catherine of Aragon, Mary wanted to return England to the worship of the Roman Catholic Church. During Mary ‘s reign, many reformists were executed nevertheless on her decease, her half-sister Elizabeth became Queen. She wished to reconstruct stableness to the state, while at the same clip continuing England from foreign domination. The church so should retain its heritage but remain free of the regulation of the Pope. The signifier of Holy Eucharist, the treble order of bishops, priest and deacons, the sacraments were all retained. But the differences were that services were in English, the reading of Scripture was encouraged, and clergy could get married. The 3rd Book of Common Prayer was issued in 1559. The purpose of the Elizabethan church was to convey stableness to both church and province. The Church of England held together in one household a assortment of positions by avoiding narrow definitions. Richard Hooker, 1554-1600, was the vindicator for the emerging Anglican place. The Anglican attack to theology, the balance of Scripture, tradition and ground was defined by his Treatise on the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. He saw the church as changing and adapting. The church structures its being by looking at Bible and tradition in the visible radiation of ground and experience.

Renewal and advancement in the eighteenth century placed a new tenseness on personal transition, redemption by religion in Christ ‘s agreed decease, the exclusive power of Scripture, and the significance of the talk of the Word. Influenced by evangelical clergy, the missional motion brought the Gospel to all parts of the universe. At place in England, evangelicals played a major function in the abolishment of bondage and the reform of societal conditions. In the nineteenth century, the Anglo-catholic Restoration brought a new accent to the liturgical and sacramental life of the church. The Oxford Movement aimed at reconstructing high church ideals to the Church of England. In this motion we have the Low Church that of being the Anglican Church of Ireland and High Anglican Church that being the Church of England. This group of reformists was sometimes called Tractarianists because of the series of Hagiographas, Tracts for the Times, in which they set out their positions. The motion emphasized the Catholic and apostolic nature of the church, looking back to its historic roots. It placed new importance on the liturgical and sacramental life of the church ; the debut of vestments, tapers, ceremonial and ritual followed shortly after. Anglo-Catholics were involved in ministry to the slums of big English metropoliss, and in missional work around the universe. During this period, spiritual orders of monastics and nuns were re-established, and this continues in the Anglican Church to this twenty-four hours.

In decision, after much research it is understood that The Anglican Church was created by many parts and thoughts that dated back to the early old ages of Christianity in the British Isles. King Henry VIII was the concluding part to its foundation, but would non be here if it were non for the Celtic Spirituality. However to this twenty-four hours there are issues with the Anglican Church. The Anglican Church though would hold liked to settle one time it left the Roman umbrella will non be in a settle province. It seems as if equilibrium can non be maintained and there is still controversy to this twenty-four hours with this faith that was created many old ages ago.