Before Henry VIII quarreled with the Pope and established the Church of England, England had been a faithful Catholic country for centuries. In the days before the annulling of his first marriage became such a political issue throughout Europe, Henry too had been a faithful Catholic, and had earned the title of "Defender of the Faith" for writing a piece of work against the new Protestant religion. But when it became clear to Henry that he would not have a son by Catherine of Aragon, he was determined to have his marriage to her annulled, so that he could re-marry and father a son to succeed him.

What Henry had to do to secure this, changed the course of English history forever. Catherine of Aragon would not agree to an annulment, which would make her daughter, Mary, illegitimate and unable to succeed to the throne, arguing that she was Henry's true wife, and had always been so. In Tudor times, there was no divorce as such - that is the dissolving of a legally valid marriage - and couples who wanted to part had to seek an annulment, which would be the acceptance that they were never truly married in the first place. An annulment could only be granted in certain circumstances - such as one or both of the partners had been too young to marry, or the marriage was not properly conducted, or the couple were too closely related by blood.

It was the latter that Henry initially used to try and obtain the annulment. Catherine had been the wife of his brother, Arthur, and after his premature death, married Henry. It said in the Bible that it was wrong for a man to marry his brother's wife, and if he did, they would have no children, and Henry interpreted this as the reason for his lack of sons. Henry put his case to the Pope who was in charge of annulling marriages, but did not get the response that he desired. Catherine was the aunt of the great Emperor Charles V, the most influential man in Europe, and knowing how Catherine felt about the annulment, the Pope could not afford to offend her great nephew.

Henry tried to secure an annulment from the Pope for a number of years, but the Pope was unrelenting. Henry realized that if he wanted to re-marry, he would have to find another way of annulling the marriage. He and his ministers found the solution in establishing a Church of England which would be totally independent of the Papacy. Protestants did not recognize the power of the Pope, and so Henry as King would be free to mould the church in whatever way he desired. Henry made himself "Supreme Head of the Church in England", and got his annulment, making him free to marry Anne Boleyn.

As head of the Church, Henry was effectively in charge of the Archbishops, Bishops and all the clergy that the English Church still retained. In fact, in many ways, the new English Church was very similar to the old Catholic Church. Henry was arguably a Catholic at heart, and changed the beliefs of the Church very little. But in other ways, the change of religion in England had enormous repercussions for the country. The monasteries and convents of the land, which had grown rich over the centuries, fell prey to Henry and his ministers, and were all closed. Henry was covetous of their wealth, and his ministers declared publicly thatÊ monks, nuns and friars were living immoral rather than godly lives, living lives of luxury rather than of humility and poverty that was expected of them, eating good food, drinking good wines, and even keeping mistresses and lovers. This was probably untrue in the majority of cases, and simply a propaganda tool by the government to justify their action against them.

Towards the end of his life, Henry began to turn once again to Catholicism, and his apprehension over the way he had treated the monks, nuns and friars, is reflected in his dying words, "monks, monks, monks".

Henry's Protestant son, King Edward VI, died when he was only sixteen. After an unsuccessful attempt by Northumberland to usurp the throne for his daughter in law, Lady Jane Grey, Henry VIII's eldest daughter, Mary, became Queen. Mary was a devoted Catholic, and from the outset of her reign, she was determined to restore the Catholic faith in England. This had been widely suspected, and it was this knowledge that was a large factor in Northumberland's schemes. The restoration of the Catholic faith also worried a significant proportion of the nobility. Many families had become wealthy as a result of the Reformation, having gained land from the dissolved monasteries, convents and friaries. The Protestant faith had also secularized certain aspects of local government, and the officials had no desire to lose their influence and prestige to the church. However, the majority of the common people were probably still Catholic, and there was by no means a lack of enthusiasm for the return of their old and familiar faith. Mary has been known in history as "Bloody Mary" because of her persecution of Protestants, but in 1553, persecution was not something she anticipated. Initially her reign was tolerant. Perhaps she believed that the people were longing so much for the return of her beloved faith that she would have no need to persecute, but time shattered her belief.

Mary replaced the Protestant clergy with Catholics, imprisoning prominent Protestants such as Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley. The Parliament of 1553 repealed most of the Protestant legislation of her brother, including the two Prayer books, Acts of Uniformity, the marriage of the clergy, and the Forty-two Articles. This did not occur without some dispute, and there was opposition over the government's attempt to punish those that refused to attend Catholic worship. The Act of Supremacy was later annulled, and in November 1554, absolution was granted to the whole realm by Cardinal Pole, the Pope's legate in England, and the country was restored to Papal obedience. Anti-Lollards acts were passed in Parliament, and all acts against the Papacy made since 1529 were annulled. Mary hoped to restore the monasteries, convents and Friars, but this proved more difficult, and the government had to concede that the lands given out to the nobility during the years of change, remained theirs. Seminaries were established to train priests. Protestant books were replaced with Catholic ones, there was an attempt to restore statues and paintings in churches, as well as the altar and the great crucifixes that had also been removed, and the vestments worn by the clergy.

In 1555, the persecution of Protestants began. Those who refused to adhere to the Catholic form of worship were to be burnt to death as heretics. It was this above all else - even the Queen's marriage to Philip II - that made the first Tudor Queen so unpopular. Mary appears to have been the driving force in the persecution, believing that the more people she burnt for heresy, the more favor she would receive from God. Mary desperately wanted a baby, and when she failed to have one, she saw this as a sign from God that she was being too tolerant of Protestantism, and the result was more burnings. Some of her advisors were aware of the damage her policy was causing her and her government, but Mary was persistent. Some three hundred people were burnt to death between 1555 and 1558. Most of the people were Londoners, but there were also burnings in Kent, Essex, Sussex and Suffolk. Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were also burnt for heresy, and other lesser clergy. Many people were horrified, especially when a pregnant woman was burnt to death. In these years, Elizabeth became increasingly popular, and a poem was later dedicated to her:

"When these with violence were burnt to death, We prayed to God for our Elizabeth."

Burning for heresy was a well established custom in the country - no one disputed it, and a small number of heretics were also burnt in Elizabeth's reign, but the objection under Mary was the definition of heresy. Protestantism had a strong following in the country, and it was accepted by many as a legitimate form of Christian worship, and not at all heretical.

It was this act that gave Elizabeth ultimate control of the Church of England. In the reign of her father and brother, the monarch had been "Head of the Church in England", but under Elizabeth, this was modified to "Supreme Governor of the Church in England". The change may have been made to appease Catholics who could not accept the monarch as "Head of the Church", seeing the church as the Pope's domain, or it may have been made because Elizabeth was a woman. In the sixteenth century, women were regarded as inferior to men in spiritual matters, and many were uncomfortable with the idea of a woman being in charge. This act also included an oath of loyalty to the Queen that the clergy were expected to take. If they did not take it, then they would lose their office. A High Commission was established to ensure that the oath was taken. The oath was as follows:

"I A. B. do utterly testify and declare in my conscience, That the Queen's Highness is the only Supream Governor of this Realm, and of all other her Highness Dominions and Countries, as well in all Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Things or Causes, as Temporal; and that no foreign Prince, Person, Prelate State or Potentate, hath or ought to have any Jurisdiction, Power, Superiority, Preheminence, or Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual, within this Realm; and therefore I do utterly renounce and forsake all foreign Jurisdictions, Powers, Superiorities and Authorities, and do promote, that from henceforth I shall bear faith and true Allegiance to the Queen's Highness, her Heirs and lawful Successors, and to my Power shall asssist and defend all Jurisdictions, Preheminences, Privileges and Authorities granted or belonging to the Queen's Highness, her Heirs and Successors, or united and annexed to the Imperial Crown of this Realm. So help me God, and by the Contents of this Book."

This was the crux of the Elizabethan Church, establishing a set form of worship. The Prayer books of Edward VI were fused into one, and were to be used in every church in the land. Church attendance on Sundays and holy days was made compulsory, with a twelve pence fine to be collected if people did not attend, the money to be given to the poor. The wording of the Communion was to be vague so that Protestants and Catholics could both participate, and the ornaments and vestments of the Church were to be retained as they had been before the reforms in the second year of Edward's reign. Although the passage of the Act of Supremacy through Parliament had been relatively easy, passing the Act of Uniformity was much more difficult. A large number of the Parliament, who were still Catholic, opposed the bill, and it was eventually only passed by three votes, 21 to 18.

The religious settlement began to be implemented in the summer of 1559. Despite the problems that sometimes arose, it proved to be a remarkable success.

Parker began his life as a Catholic, but was converted to Protestantism while at Cambridge University. He was favored by both Henry VIII and Edward VI. He became Queen Elizabeth's first Archbishop of Canterbury in 1559. He was largely responsible for implementing the Elizabethan religious settlement and monitoring abuses within the Church. He was a man dedicated to his work, and earned the title of "Nosy Parker" for his interference in people's affairs. He and Elizabeth did not always see eye to eye on religious matters, and both had to compromise their views in order to work together. Early in her reign, Elizabeth expressed a dislike of the clergy marrying. In 1561 she issued a royal injunction forbidding any cleric to live with his wife and family in any cathedral close or college. This was not popular, and Parker, who was married himself, defended clerical marriage. The Queen relented over the cathedral closes, but not the colleges. Elizabeth was also concerned that the religious settlement was not being properly observed in some areas outside London, and she blamed Parker for not ensuring that the act of uniformity was properly enforced.

Although Elizabeth's relationship with Archbishop Parker was not always easy, they worked well together, and put the Elizabethan Church on a firm foothold. They had differences of opinion, but this was perhaps inevitable, and the strength of the partnership can be seen in the success of the Church in the early years, and that Parker remained in his office until his death in 1575. Elizabeth's relationship with his successor, Edmund Grindal, was disastrous. Until Parker's death, he had been Archbishop of York and was well thought of and admired. the problem with Grindal was that he had some Puritan sympathies, and wished the Church to be more overtly Protestant.

Almost immediately he began to make changes, and allowed the publication of the Protestant Geneva Bible, which had been suppressed by Parker. His actions soon irritated the Queen. She wanted every church in the land to worship God as the religious settlement dictated, and did not want any change made to the settlement, or for the church to be pushed in a more fervent Protestant direction. She liked the settlement just as it was, and didn't want to change it. She and Grindal soon clashed over the matter of "prophesyings", and it was the Archbishop who came out worse for wear. Prophesyings were unauthorized meetings for prayer and preaching. These concerned Elizabeth who felt that the preachers would preach what ever came into their head, not what was sound doctrine. Not only would this undermine her Church, but could also be dangerous, as there was no control over what would be said, or the issues that could arise.

Elizabeth was deeply suspicious of Puritans and their dislike of hierarchy, and was concerned that what began as religious talk could quickly become political. Such preachers, she felt, would also make people discontentedÊ with her Church and heighten what was already a very tense religious situation. As well as facing opposition to the Church from Puritans, she also faced a very dangerous opposition from the Catholics. Elizabeth believed that all the preachers of the realm should preach according to the regulations of her Church, preach the same message and doctrine, and read from approved books of homilies and prayers. This would unite the country, not divide it.

In 1576, she ordered Grindal to suppress the prophesyings. However, Grindal was very much in favor of them. He believed that they were a good way of educating the people into the doctrine of the new faith, and for providing religious instruction, as some places were without ministers. He consulted his bishops over the matter, and finding that ten out of fifteen approved of them, he felt obliged to write to the Queen to tell her that he thought they were a good idea. His letter to her was remarkably bold, as were his further petitions. He told her that although she was the highest authority in the land over political matters, she did not have the same authority over spiritual matters, and that he must put the will of God above his duty to her as sovereign. Elizabeth was outraged at his defiance, and he was suspended from his office in the summer of 1577 until his death in 1583.

John Whitgift (1583-1604)Of all her Archbishops of Canterbury, John Whitgift was the one that Elizabeth got on the best with. He shared many of her views and aspirations, and as well as this, was unmarried. Like Elizabeth, he was suspicious of Puritans, and was eager to defend the Elizabethan Church against this religious group, as well as protect it against the machinations of the Catholics. He was a devoted Anglican, and pushed for obedience to the English Church. Elizabeth affectionately called him her "little black husband". When she lay on her death-bed, she drew comfort from his presence, and his prayers for her immortal soul.