From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.