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Acts of Supremacy
 
 
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The first Act of Supremacy granted King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
 Royal Supremacy which is still the legal authority of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. Royal Supremacy is specifically used to describe the legal sovereignty
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
 of the civil laws over the laws of the Church
Christian Church

Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian Groups of people and a Church . The word church is usually, but not exclusively, associated with Christianity....
 in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

Act of Supremacy November 1534 (26 Hen. 8, c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England
Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period. In a series of developments, it came increasingly to constrain the power of the King of England, and went on after the Act of Union 1707 to merge with the Parliament of Scotland and form the main basis of the Pa...
 under King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
 declaring that he was 'the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England' and that the English crown shall enjoy "all honours, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity."

The Nation Master Encyclopedia explains that Henry was declared "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor) for his pamphlet accusing Martin Luther
Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Germans monk, theology, university professor, priest, father of Protestantism, and Protestant Reformers whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western culture....
 of heresy
Heresy

Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief....
, and was now confirmed as head of the Church in England through this legislation.






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The first Act of Supremacy granted King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
 Royal Supremacy which is still the legal authority of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. Royal Supremacy is specifically used to describe the legal sovereignty
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
 of the civil laws over the laws of the Church
Christian Church

Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian Groups of people and a Church . The word church is usually, but not exclusively, associated with Christianity....
 in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

First Act of Supremacy 1534

The Act of Supremacy November 1534 (26 Hen. 8, c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England
Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period. In a series of developments, it came increasingly to constrain the power of the King of England, and went on after the Act of Union 1707 to merge with the Parliament of Scotland and form the main basis of the Pa...
 under King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
 declaring that he was 'the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England' and that the English crown shall enjoy "all honours, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity."

The Nation Master Encyclopedia explains that Henry was declared "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor) for his pamphlet accusing Martin Luther
Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Germans monk, theology, university professor, priest, father of Protestantism, and Protestant Reformers whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western culture....
 of heresy
Heresy

Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief....
, and was now confirmed as head of the Church in England through this legislation. This made official the English Reformation
English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
 that had been brewing since 1527. The main purpose of this act was so that Henry could get an annulment
Annulment

Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage Void . Unlike divorce, it is retroactive: an annulled marriage is considered never to have existed....
 of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon also known as Katherine or Katharine; was the List of English consorts as the Wives of Henry VIII of Henry VIII of England, and Princess of Wales by her first marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales....
, but Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII

Pope Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a Cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534....
 still refused to grant the annulment. The Treasons Act
Treasons Act 1534

Treasons Act 1534 was an Act of Parliament passed by the English Parliament during the reign of King Henry VIII of England in 1534.This Act was passed after the Act of Supremacy 1534, which made the king the "Only Head of the Church of England on Earth." The Treason Act 1534 made it treason, punishable by death, to disavow the Act of Supre...
 was later issued saying that to disavow the Act of Supremacy and to deprive the King of his "dignity, title, or name" was to be considered treason
Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of loyalty to one's sovereignty or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife ....
.

This act was repealed in 1554 by Henry's daughter, Queen Mary I
Mary I of England

Mary I , was Queen of England and Monarchy of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived half brother, Edward VI of England, to the English throne....
.

Second Act of Supremacy 1559

"Henry's Act of Supremacy was repealed (1554) in the reign of his staunchly Catholic daughter, Mary I
Mary I

Mary I may refer to:*Mary I of England , daughter of Henry VIII, often called "Bloody Mary"*Mary I of Scotland , Best known as "Queen of Scots"...
. Equally unsurprisingly, it was reinstated by Mary's Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth I, when she ascended the throne. Elizabeth declared herself Supreme Governor of the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
, and instituted an Oath of Supremacy
Oath of Supremacy

The Oath of Supremacy, imposed by the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England of the Church of England....
, requiring anyone taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and state. Anyone refusing to take the Oath could be charged with treason." The use of the term Supreme Governor as opposed to Supreme Head
Supreme Head

Supreme Head of the Church of England was a title held by King Henry VIII of England signifying his leadership of the Church of England....
 pacified Catholics and those Protestants concerned about a female leader of the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
. Elizabeth, who was a politique
Politique

Politique was a person who ruled without letting his or her personal feelings get in the way of doing what was best for his country. It was also a term used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to describe moderates of both religious faiths who held that only the restoration of a strong monarchy could save France from total collapse, a...
, did not prosecute layman nonconformists
Nonconformism

Nonconformism is the refusal to conform to common standards, conventions, rules, customs, traditions, norms, or laws. In specific usage Nonconformism , however, refers to the Protestant Christians of England and Wales who refused to "conform", or follow the governance and usages of the Church of England....
, or those who did not follow the established rules of the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
 unless their actions directly undermined the authority of the English monarch, as was the case in the vestments controversy
Vestments controversy

The vestments controversy arose in the English Reformation, ostensibly concerning vestments, but more fundamentally concerned with English Protestant identity, doctrine, and various church practices....
.

The consolidation of church and state under Royal Supremacy, as established by the Tudors, instigated political and religious strife in the succeeding centuries. This strife, along with similar struggles in Europe, is one reason there is a constitutional separation of church and state in many jurisdictions now. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, however, the Crown, through the government, still retains a significant involvement in the established Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
.

See also

  • Supreme Governor of the Church of England
    Supreme Governor of the Church of England

    The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title held by the British Monarch which signifies their titular leadership over the Church of England....
  • Religion in the United Kingdom
    Religion in the United Kingdom

    Religion in the United Kingdom is about the development of religion in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707. The Treaty of Union that led to the formation of the United Kingdom ensured that there would be a protestant succession as well as a link between Separation of church and state that still remains....
  • State religion
    State religion

    A state religion is a religion body or creed officially endorsed by the state. Practically, a state without a state religion is called a secular state....
  • Separation of church and state
    Separation of church and state

    Separation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine that government and religion institutions are to be kept separate and independent from each other....


External links

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