Authority of the pope declared void in England
The 18th of July 1536 AD
Henry VIII ’s split with Rome was far from an overnight event. It was tied in with his marital problems – the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (refused by the pope, granted by Henry’s own creatures in the English church). It was linked to his need for funds to pay for improved defences for his kingdom, the destination of much of the money seized from the smaller monasteries which were the first to be closed by his officers. And it was concerned with his fears of action by Charles V, who held the pope in his power after sacking Rome. And among the complications caused by Henry’s personal and political situation, it had impetus too from the likes of Cranmer , promoting a Protestant cause that Henry at one time had found anathema.
In 1536 Cranmer published The Ten Articles, outlining the core beliefs and doctrines of the new Church of England. And in July of the same year, setting the seal on the break, Henry’s Parliament passed An Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome. This Act was wordily insulting to the pope, but contained within it the power to punish anybody defending his authority in Britain. It was a step that for Henry’s reign at least ended all possibility of reconciliation with Rome. In spite of this, Henry would not be excommunicated until December 17 1538 .
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