On the 3rd November 1534 the first Act of Supremacy was passed?
The Act of Supremacy
This was the act that made Henry VIII the head of the Church of England, replacing the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
Then Came Mary she repealed the Act of Supremacy
His daughter Queen Mary was a fanatical Catholic, because she felt that father had started the Church of England just to divorce her mother.
She had every intention of correcting the situation and making England a Catholic Country again. So, in 1554 she repealed it, in fact, all she is remembers her for is her hatred of Protestants.
Unfortunately for her not being ruled by Rome and the Pope was very popular, this meant that she couldn’t carry Parliament with her, they wouldn’t support her attempts to return confiscated property that had been back to the church.
Nevertheless, she found she could use the heresy laws, which were still in place, therefore she could override parliament and use them to punish anyone guilty of heresy against Catholicism.
She was quite ruthless, she had them arrested and then burnt at the stake. Over 300 known protestants were burnt at the stake during her reign, which earned her the title “Bloody” Mary, by which she is still known as.
Mary Died and Elizabeth restored the Act of Supremacy
When Mary died her half sister, Elizabethan, became Queen and her first act of Parliament was the Act of Supremacy 1558, declaring her the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, to which was added an Oath of Supremacy, requiring anyone taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and State. You guessed it, anyone refusing to take the oath could be charged with treason under the heresy laws.
They all used the same laws!
Finally, the Church of England was secure, well so they thought, but that is another story.
Our show Henry VIII – The Break with Rome tells the story of the birth of the Church of England, it can be downloaded at https://history-portal.com/product/henry-viii/
It all happened because in the sixteenth century King Henry VIII wanted a son, his wife Catherine of Aragon was too old to have any more children, then Henry found Anne Boleyn whom he thought could give him a son. Unfortunately for him he couldn’t do this without getting a divorce, something he could only do with the blessing of Rome itself.
So, he decided the solution was to set up his own church and that required the Act of Supremacy.
In the musical we travel to the Court and meet the famous, cantankerous and outrageous Henry VIII in this story of mischief, intrigue and adventure that leads up to the break from Rome and Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn.
Isn’t History Fun?
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© Tony Dalton