Why did Henry VIII become head of the English Church?

Answer 1

Henry VIII was the son of Henry VII; the first King to break the long reigning line of thePlantagenet's and the last king to be part of the War of the Roses: a series of struggles in which 7 of the English Kings, from Richard II to Henry VIII, fought for the crown. The term Wars of the Roses was coined from the red and white roses that each signified the two houses of Lancaster and York, from whom the ^ kings prior to Henry VII came. Henry VII was well known and received, b/c he was technically one of the first kings to claim the throne through merit and not through noble birth~ the legend and story reads that he literally picked the crown up off the battlefield and put it on his head. Henry the VII was a frugal and stern leader, and determined to restore peace to the nation. While his claim to the throne itself was somewhat shaky, he stabilized it somewhat by marrying Elizabeth of York, bringing some respect and nobility to the pairing. While his reign was often challenged by usurper's Henry VII had a fairly successful reign, in which he put a stop to the fighting between the Crown and the Barons; and through heavy taxation and fines for misdemeanor's he brought the nobility to heel~ "bridging the transitional period between the Middle ages and the Renaissance" (Kings and Queens of Great Britain Eric. R Trovial et al). King Henry VII had 4 children; 2 girls, 2 boys. Of his boys, The eldest was Arthur, named for the nostalgia and famed court of Camelot; a reign which Henry VII hoped his son, upon being crowned, would usher back in. Arthur was raised from his birth to be a King; groomed, educated and prepared for all the tumultuous tasks and responsibilities that awaited him~ Henry VII, aware that even his son's hold to the crown was still remain shaky at best, pre contracted his son Arthur with Catherine of Argon princess and daughter of the infamous Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain. At the time, France, England and Spain were the three superpower's England, having always been at odds with France, attempted to align themselves under the security of Spain, and this marriage with the epitome of Henry's lifework: not only did he secure his country's safety (France would not likely declare war on England, or try to claim it, while under the protective jurisdiction of Spain); but he also provided his son's reign with a secure claim to the throne, as well and a dynamic marriage that would be consider a pairing of the greats. Henry VIII was raised in a different environment than his brother, Arthur~ he was a bright, well rounded young man who craved education and had a deep interest in theology and was being prepared to enter a life of the cloth. Favored by his mother, he was not groomed to rule, an attribute that later, at least in his early years, only endeared him to the public. Arthur married his his wife, Catherine, but unfortunately died within a few months of the marriage. Unable to pay back her dowry 9or refusing to), Henry VII, still King, left Catherine of Aragon to languish in England and spent the last 6 years of his life trying to prepare Henry VIII to rule, and getting the affairs of England in order. It's debatable how Henry VIII came to marry Catherine of Aragon~ when it was initially suggested by Catherine's family, Henry the VII scoffed at the idea, so it most likely Henry VIII made the final choice. Catherine was several years his senior, but still young and beautiful by all account's and most importantly, swore she had not consummated her marriage to Arthur; a deed that would have presented dire problems to the marriage of Henry as his brother. When his father died, Henry VIII was fairly young, but he was loved and adored by his people, as was his wife. They were considered a magnificent pair; and it wasn't until after 8 miscarriages, only one successful birth Mary that Henry VIII began to start proceedings that would alleviate him of his former wife and allow him to take others. In his middle and latter years, Henry's popularity waned; and he became known as a monster, eventually marrying a total of six times. Of those 6, he beheaded 2, divorced 2,and lost one to childbirth related infections. his final wife, Catherine Parr, outlived him. Out of all those marriages, he had three living heirs; Mary, his first born daughter by Catherine of Aragon; Elizabeth, his second daughter, born by Anne Boleyn; and Edward, his one and only son; born third by his wife Jane Seymour As a male, Edward bore claim to the throne, and upon his father's death, indeed became King~ however, he was a child, only nine years old, and there for, his uncle, also named Edward, was named Protector, and ruled for him in all but name. Weak even in his youngest years, Edward was a sickly child, and a marriage was considered of the utmost importance, however, he died before one actually went through; dying of tuberculosis at the age of fifteen. From there, a squabble over the throne continued; first Lady Jane Grey took the crown, Henry VIII's great niece followed by Mary; Henry VIII's first legitimate daughter (though deemed a bastard during his life); a reign that was infamous for it's pious and cruelty, and garnered Mary the name "bloody Mary". Upon her passing, Elizabeth; Henry VIII's second daughter (also deemed a bastard during his lifetime) ascended the throne, becoming queen for the next 44 years. She never married, and to this day is considered one of England's greatest rulers. After his older brother Arthur died of a sickness, King Henry VIII stepped up, only he was still young.

Answer 2

He wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine, and marry Anne Boleyn. Catherine had not produced a son and heir to the throne and was now unable to do so.

The Pope would not allow the divorce so Henry became head of the breakaway Church of England and went ahead with the divorce. Unfortunately even 6 wives could not give him the son he needed to take over when he died.

Anglican AnswerHenry didn't start the Church of England. The Church in Britain had been here since just after the death of Christ and was brought by S. Simon Zelotes, His Brother. The First Bishop of The British Church was S. Aristobulos, at least according to S.Dorotheus of Tyre. Roman Catholic AnswerWe mustn't confuse the Church OF England with the Church IN England. The later was established by St. Augustine of Canterbury when he went to England in the seventh century to evanglize and establish the Catholic Church in England. The former, The Church OF England is a protestant church which was established as a breakaway from the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century by Henry VIII and supported by a compliant Parliment. Henry became head of this church by simply declaring himself head, replacing the Catholic bishops with protestant "bishops" and having Parliment pass a law declaring him head of the Church. In 1531 Henry VIII had himself declared supreme head of the Church OF England - the new protestant entity.

Answer 3

The "up front" reason was because he wanted to marry again and the Pope would not annul his first marriage. He was obsessed with having a legitimate son and his 1st wife had been unable to bear anymore children after the Princess who became Queen Mary I. The real reason was more complex. It is not easy to answer in a few sentences. Take the American Civil War for example. The real reason for the war was because America was rising as a international super power and that cultural expansion could not take place with two centers of power and culture. One had to be eliminated and so it was by the war. England too was growing into an international force and would dominate the world for the next 400 years or so. All aspects of what it meant to be "English" needed to come from the dynamic social cauldron that was England. There could not be, as there was before the American Civil War, two heads of State. The Pope and his religious establishment in England had to be forcefully redirected to the benefit and control of the British nation. The Pope had to be removed, and so he was. Now there was only one master and it was the King. For centuries after, the social elite was of the Church of England with it's head in London not Rome.

Answer 4

Henry VIII could not persuade the Pope (head of the Roman Catholic Church) to grant him a divorce, so Henry decided to form a breakaway Church, with himself as head.

. King Henry VIII made his own Church (the Church of England) for his own personal satisfaction. He believed that his dynastic wishes superseded God's wishes and since the Pope would not grant him an annulment he put Churchmen in place who would grant him a divorce. The people he put in place were protestant and they wanted a protestant church like the princes in Northern Germany had brought into existence on Martin Luther's philosophy. Henry, by parliamentary act made himself the head of his new Church and attempted to keep the trappings of the Catholic faith while allowing the new Churchmen he put into place to eviscerate the religion, thus by his (Henry's wish) and parliament's cooperation, he became head of his new Church.

Answer 5

A:

Martin Luther and others had split with the Catholic Church over issues of morals and doctrine, when they believed the Church had become irretrievably corrupt and had introduced teachings at variance with The Bible, but the split between King Henry VIII and the Catholic Church was fundamentally different. King Henry VIII was a staunch Catholic and had no criticism of the Catholic Church, either in terms of morals or doctrine. In fact, it was his defence of the Catholic Church against the claims of Martin Luther, that earnt him the papal attribute of 'Defender of the Faith'.

However, Henry believed he needed a son to ensure the succession to the crown, as there was no strong precedent for female successors. He knew that the Church's rules on annulment were somewhat elastic and so petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. His grounds would be that her prior marriage with his brother had been consummated and therefore her marriage with Henry was technically incestuous. Clement desperately wanted to please Henry but vacillated for too long. When Pope Clement had unsuccessfully engaged the armies of Emperor Charles in battle, he was no longer a free agent and realised that as Catherine was the aunt of the emperor he could do no other than to refuse the annulment. Henry, in turn, broke ties with the pope and ordered the English bishops to annul his marriage.

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Henry VIII could not persuade the Pope (head of the Roman Catholic Church) to grant him a divorce, so Henry decided to form a breakaway Church, with himself as head.

Answer 6

Because he was king he could do any think he wanted so he told the priest to give him a divorce to his first wife, because the priest said no he demanded to take over and be the head of the church of England.

Answer 7

Martin Luther and others had split with the Catholic Church over issues of morals and doctrine, when they believed the Church had become irretrievably corrupt and had introduced teachings at variance with the Bible, but the split between King Henry VIII and the Catholic Church was fundamentally different. King Henry VIII was a staunch Catholic and had no criticism of the Catholic Church, either in terms of morals or doctrine. In fact, it was his defence of the Catholic Church against the claims of Martin Luther, that earnt him the papal attribute of 'Defender of the Faith'.

However, Henry believed he needed a son to ensure the succession to the crown, as there was no strong precedent for female successors. He knew that the Church's rules on annulment were somewhat elastic and so petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. His grounds would be that her prior marriage with his brother had been consummated and therefore her marriage with Henry was technically incestuous. Clement desperately wanted to please Henry but vacillated for too long. When Pope Clement had unsuccessfully engaged the armies of Emperor Charles in battle, he was no longer a free agent and realised that as Catherine was the aunt of the emperor he could do no other than to refuse the annulment. Henry, in turn, broke ties with the pope and ordered the English bishops to annul his marriage.

Answer 8

By getting married to Anne Boleyn, then declaring himself supreme head of the church of England, thus separating himself from the Roman Catholic church in Rome.