2.Reformation

Through the ages，the Church in Europe gathered wealth and power that attracted the jealousy of kings.The rulers of England，safe in their island，used the Church for their own political purposes.Most of them resisted the Pope’s interference in their national affairs，but they did nothing to weaken his rule in Rome.

The Church of the Middle Ages had not been only a religious body，but also a political and legal power.Its doctrine dominated man’s thinking in Europe and politically the Church was almost an upper-state organization.Everyone in Europe was required to belong to the same church.Anyone who held ideas different from the doctrine preached by the church would be labeled apagan or heretic.A pagan would be put to death by the government or burnt to death by the church itself，for the church forbade bloodshed.The notorious church court put many people to death，some of whom were famous scientists and social reformers.The church was very rich and controlled large tracts of land granted by kings or barons who wanted to buy open the gate to Heaven.The church enjoyed a regular tax，the tithe，one-tenth of the farm produce.The Pope could also raise money by selling indulgences and church posts.All this constituted a heavy burden on the Middle Ages and led to the revolt of the Protestants in Europe.

By the 16th century the new national spirit of the English people had become impatient with the Church.The greed and laziness of the Church was hindering the social and political progress of England.And the Pope，under the foreign influence，hindered their commercial progress abroad.Thus when Henry Ⅷdecided to break free from Rome he was supported not only by parliament and people but also by many honest leaders of the Church itself.

The external pretext for the Reformation was Henry Ⅷ’s divorce question.Henry Ⅶdied in 1509and his second son succeeded him as Henry Ⅷ.The new king was well educated，handsome，and athletic.He married Catherine，a Spanish princess and his elder brother’s widow，for maintaining alliance with Spain.The Pope had given special permission for him to marry his brother’s widow，as this was against the law of the Church.She gave Henry a daughter，Mary，but all her sons died at birth，and Henry badly needed a son to follow him.He began to feel that his marriage to Catherine was displeasing to God，because he had offended in marrying his brother’s widow.Then he decided to divorce Catherine.He asked the Pope ClementⅦ3 to nullify his marriage.The Pope would easily have agreed，as he had done for two recent kings of France in similar cases.But Emperor CharlesⅤ4 was Catherine’s nephew，and his army had seized Rome.The Pope was in his power and did not dare to annoy him by helping Henry.Henry was very angry.But he still had no wish to break away from the Roman Church.He wanted a reformed national Church within the Catholic framework，and all Henry’s efforts were in vain.Then the angry King began to take action.

Henry Ⅷand His Wives

In December 1533，Henry repudiated papal supremacy over the English Church.He declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England by the Act of Supremacy（1534）.It was not the King’s aim to create a Protestant Church，and indeed he claimed to be upholding true and uncorrupted Catholicism.The repudiation of papal supremacy and the break with the religious traditions of centuries were accepted with enthusiasm by many of the country gentlemen and the merchants in the towns and with some bewilderment by most of the common people.

In the years that followed the repudiation，all the religious institutions were seized and their possessions were confiscated by the crown.By degrees the English language，instead of Church Latin，became the language for religious offices.Although during the reform some Protestants and Catholics，who were against Henry，were killed，the changes in general were made without violence.

Henry Ⅷdied in 1547and his nine-year-old son succeeded him.The son was known in history，EdwardⅥ.The boy-king’s reign was a time of extreme Protestantism，for the Regency Council for him consisted almost entirely of the Protestant faction.EdwardⅥdied in 1553，only 15years old.Then his half-sister，Mary，a Catholic，became Queen.She，the daughter of Catherine，had grown up with fierce hatred of those who had upset her mother’s marriage.Relying on the King of Spain，whom she had married，Mary re-established Catholicism and in four years she burned about 300Protestants，for which she was called“Bloody Mary”.Fortunately，she ruled for only a few years and in 1558she died.Her Protestant half-sister，Elizabeth，became Queen.Under Elizabeth the Church of England was re-established on a moderate Protestant basis.