The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 with the idea that it would be both Catholic and Reformed. It was Catholic in that it viewed itself as a part of the universal church of Jesus Christ with an unbroken continuity with the early apostolic church, with emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers, as set forth in the Nicene and Athanasian creeds.
It was reformed in that it has been shaped by the doctrinal principles set forth by the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, in particular in the Thirty-Nine Articles of faith and the Book of Common Prayer. According to tradition, Christianity arrived in Britain in the first or second century.
The earliest historical evidence of Christianity among the native Britons is found in the writings of such early Christian Fathers as Tertullian and Origen, writing in the first years of the third century of their presence. However, there is some evidence that there were Christians there very early after the Romans invaded Britain, who were converted Roman soldiers.
Some say there are certain markings on Hadrian’s Wall, which separates England from Scotland, which indicate Christians were there. While Christian Britons had been there a long time at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasion, the Britons made little progress in converting these newcomers from their paganism. Thus, Pope Gregory sent “Saint Augustine” from Rome to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons.
Augustine established a church in Canterbury, thus becoming the first in a series of Archbishops of Canterbury, which today is the headquarters of the Church of England. The English church was under papal authority for nearly a thousand years before separating from Rome in 1534 during the reign of King Henry VIII. The king wanted an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn.
Under pressure from Catherine’s nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Pope Clement VII refused the annulment. Eventually, Henry, who theologically still was very much doctrinally a Catholic, took for himself the title “Supreme Head of the Church of England” to ensure the annulment of his marriage.
He was then excommunicated by Pope Paul III. Because of his strong preference for traditional Catholic practices, Protestant reformers were unable to make many changes to the practices of the Church of England.
Under his son, Edward VI, more Protestant-influenced forms of worship were adopted. Under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a more radical reformation began to take place. A new pattern of worship was set out in the Book of Common Prayer (1549 and 1552). The confession of the reformed Church of England was set forth in their Articles of Faith.
The reformation was cut short by the death of the king. Queen Mary I, who succeeded him, returned England again to the authority of the Pope, thereby ending the first attempt at an independent Church of England.
During Mary’s reign, many leaders and common people were burnt for their refusal to recant their reformed faith. These were known as the Marian martyrs, and the persecution led to her nickname of “Bloody Mary.”
Mary also died childless, and so it was left to her half-sister Elizabeth to resolve the direction of the church. It ended up as moderately Reformed in doctrine and but contending continuity with the Catholic and Apostolic traditions of the Church Fathers. It remained under the head of state, which would be a source of continued friction into the next century.
For the next century, during the reign of James 1, he took the lead in ordering the creation of what would become known as the King James Bible. He attempted to bring unity to the Church of England by setting up a commission consisting of scholars from all views within the Church in hopes of producing a new translation of the Bible free of Calvinist and Popish influence. The project was begun in 1604 and completed in 1611.
The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, while the New Testament was translated from the Greek manuscripts along with Latin texts. The work was done by forty-seven scholars working in six committees, two based in each of the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and Westminster. They worked on certain parts separately; then the drafts produced by each committee were compared and revised for harmony with each other.
The Authorised Version is often referred to as the King James Version, particularly in the United States. This is despite the fact that King James himself was not personally involved in the translation, though his authorisation was legally necessary for the translation to begin, and he set out guidelines for the translation process, such as prohibiting footnotes and ensuring that Anglican positions were recognised on various points.
Meanwhile, there were significant swings back and forth between two factions: the Puritans (and other radicals) who sought more far-reaching Protestant reforms in the Church of England and the more conservative churchmen who aimed to keep closer to traditional beliefs and Catholic practices.
The failure to submit to Puritan demands for more extensive reform was one of the causes that would lead to the English Civil War. The war produced about three skirmishes, with the Anglican Church remaining in power.
The casualties included King Charles I and the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Many bishops were dethroned, and many former practices were outlawed, and in their place, Presbyterian ecclesiology was introduced instead of the old episcopate system.
The Thirty-nine Articles were replaced with the Westminster Confession, and the Book of Common Prayer was replaced by the Directory of Public Worship. Despite this, about one quarter of English clergy refused to conform to this new form of State Presbyterianism.
With the restoration of Charles II, Parliament restored the Church of England to a form not far removed from its earlier Elizabethan version. One difference was that the ideal of encompassing all the people of England into one religious organisation had to be abandoned. The religious landscape of England assumed its present form today, with the Anglican Church occupying the middle ground.
Puritans who dissented from the Anglican establishment were unable to accomplish their goal of reforming the Anglican Church. Roman Catholicism was too strong to fall in line with the Anglican Church; thus, they continued their existence outside the National Church rather than submitting to its doctrine.
With the Act of Toleration, which was enacted on May 24, 1689, nonconformists had the freedom of worship. Protestants who dissented, such as Baptists, Congregationalists, and Quakers, but not Roman Catholics, were allowed to have their own places of worship and their own teachers and preachers.
Their meeting places were called “Chapels.” The word “Church” could not be included in their denominational name. The Act of Toleration deliberately did not apply to Catholics and Unitarians. It also excluded any dissenters from holding any political office.
As for the Church of England, its organisation changed somewhat, but they never restored the simple autonomous organisation of the early church with its elders and deacons. There was no change in their elaborate form of worship, which includes many things not authorised by God’s word. The Church of England is a far cry from the apostolic church of the first century.