English Reformation

King Henry VIII of England

The English Reformation was part of the Protestant Reformation. Many Christian churches in Europe broke away from Rome. Each of the countries that went through this process did so in a different way. Earlier the Roman Catholic Church had supreme powers.

Henry VIII broke ties with the church and became head of the English church. This was done in 1534 in the Acts of Supremacy. It was the beginning of the Church of England. His friend Thomas Cranmer became Henry's Archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer would also go on to advise Edward Henry's son when he took the throne in 1549. For years, the Church of England was almost exactly the same as the Catholic Church, except that it was ruled by the King instead of the Pope. This is different from the Reformation on the European continent, where the reformers wanted big changes right away.

There were several causes for the English Reformation. One of these was that Henry VIII, who was King of England, wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Another reason was because Henry wanted the Church's wealth and power, and got them with the dissolution of the monasteries.

The Protestant Reformation in Scotland, however, was based more on the teachings of Martin Luther and John Calvin, so it was more like the Reformation in continental Europe overall.

English Reformation Media

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  King Henry VIII initiated the separation of the English Church from the Catholic Church by declaring himself, not the Pope, the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid.

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  The Tyndale Bible was the basis for later English translations.

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  Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. Attributed to Joannes Corvus, National Portrait Gallery, London.

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  King Edward VI, under whose reign the Church of England was reformed in a more Protestant direction

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  Queen Mary I of England restored the English allegiance to Rome.

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  • The "Darnley Portrait" of Elizabeth I of England. It was named after a previous owner. Probably painted from life, this portrait is the source of the face pattern called "The Mask of Youth" which would be used for authorized portraits of Elizabeth for decades to come. Recent research has shown the colours have faded. The oranges and browns would have been crimson red in Elizabeth's time.