THE BIRTH OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH

Southland Times, Issue 17876, 4 September 1918, Page 2

THE BIRTH OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH

[Published by Arrangement.]

To the Editor. Sir, —The following are quotations from ordinary “School Histories”: — “The quarrel between Henry VIII. and the Pope over the question of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon had very important results. The King tried to get leave from the Pope to put away Queen Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn. As the Pope refused what Henry had set his heart on, the quarrel became very bitter. Thomas Cromwell’s proposal with regard to the King’s marriage was that Henry should declare that the power of the Pope was at an end in England, and that the King had the right to do whatever he wished. In other words, Henry was to declare himself to be the head of the Church of England. This advice was eagerly taken. It was - not, however, till two years later that the King sealed his final separation from the Pope, and the illegality of his former marriage, by being privately wedded to Anne Boleyn. Parliament now prohibited all appeals to (he Pope, and declared that Catherine should no longer receive the title of Queen. On May 28th, 1533, Henry’s marriage was made public and four days after Anno was crowned at Westminster by Archbishop Cranmer. As soon as this was known at Rome, the Pope publisher! a bull of excommunication against Henry and Anne. In 1534 Parliament snapped even' tie that united England to Rome by prohibiting all payments and appeals to the Pope, and by confirming Henry’s title as supreme head of the English Church. It was further enacted that Henry’s marriage with Anne Boleyn was perfectly lawful. Anything written, printed, or spoken against these second nuptials was declared high treason. While these proceedings were going on in England, the Pope in full consistory declared Catherine’s marriage valid and indissoluble. "The Papal supremacy over England had now been overthrown, but not without opposition and bloodshed. Some, for refusing to take the oath acknowledging the King’s supremacy in the Church, were put to death. The monks, who scrupled to take the same oath, were, condemned for high treason and hanged, while other protestants were burned. The fires of Smithfield frequently consumed, at the same time,ißonju»f Catholics and Protestants. “It would have been easy for Henry to take his stand and become a Protestant, but this was not what Henry wished. The power of the Pope he coveted for himself, and so the English clergy' were ordered to acknowledge the King as ‘the only supreme head of the Church.’ They were unwilling to do so, but they knew that Henry would allow nothing to stand in his way and they were afraid to refuse.

“When Henry declared himself head of the Church he began to think that he could order people to believe what he pleased. So he made some changes in the ‘Articles of Religion.’ that is, in the written statement of the church’s beliefs. After much discussion the Six Articles were adopted. These notorious articles were ; (1) That Christ was really present in the cucharist under the forms, but without the substance, of bread and wine; (2) That communion under both kinds was necessary to salvation; (3) That priests could not marry; (4' That vows of chastity must be observed ; {A ) That private masses are essential; (6) That auricular confession is expedient and necessary. The changes that Henry made were such as some Catholic? themselves agreed with. Henry himself was never a Protestant, and when the Protestants tried to make their beliefs the established religion of the country, he was very angry.” I norv leave historical quotations and make a few statements based on them. The Anglican Church originated in the quarrel between Henry and the Pope over his divorce from his first wife. Henry defied the Pope and divorced Catherine and the Pope excommunicated Henry, the first head of the Anglican Church. The Anglican Church did not leave the Church of Rome, it was excommunicated. How different with the Presbyterian Church! It. left the Church of Rome of its own accord. The Anglican Church was founded by Henry VITI„ one of the most dissolute Kings of English history, who married six women, some of whom were executed in the Tower of London; other Churches came into being as the result of a religious revival. The Church of England at its birth was a Roman Catholic. Church with the King as head instead of the Pope. In other words, it was not Roman Catholic and it was not Protestant. The Six Articles of faith drawn up (luring the reign of Henry VIII. (which 1 have already quoted I are a proof of this. I now leave the public to judge as to whether the word “bastard” was not an appropriate word to use in reference to the birth of the Anglican Church.—l am, etc., A. MACDONALD. The Manse, Otautau, 31st August, 1918. P.S.—I insert above as a reply to personal abuse which has been levelled at me in the controversy. The remarks which have given rise to the correspondence were of a purely historical character, reference at the time being made to the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Anglican Churches at their inception. No reference whatever was made to the present peoples of these communions. The use of the word “bastard” was perhaps unfortunate; it was, however, used without malice and only as emphasising an historical fact. Its relation to the context of my remarks has been utterly misquoted by those responsible for spreading the report which has led to the correspondence, and as a consequence the whole debate has been reared on false premises, notwithstanding the fact that I followed strictly the Scriptural injunction and went straight to the two parties who took umbrage at my re marks and reasoned with them. The result was one withdrew his opposition, the othei continued it.—A.M.