History-Religion 16th Century

• Henry VIII's Great Matter


  His desire to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
• Henry was desperate to produce a male heir to continue the Tudor dynasty
• Catherine gave birth to a total of six children, but only one survived: a daughter, Mary
• Henry came to believe that God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife


  Consequently, Henry became increasingly unhappy with his marriage to Catherine
• By 1525, Catherine's lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn, had caught Henry's eye
• Henry and the Pope had a good relationship


  Things changed dramatically when Henry started looking into divorcing Catherine
• Divorce


  People believed that your soul could not go to heaven if you were divorced
• Henry's solution


  1. Ask the Pope for an annulment instead of a divorce

  2. If the marriage never legally existed, then Henry would be free to marry Anne and his soul would be saved
• The Pope didn't agree with Henry and refused his request
• How Henry resolved the matter

  1. Henry's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, suggested that Henry could break away from the Catholic Church in Rome and place himself as Supreme Head of the Church of England

  2. Henry would then be able to make up his own rules and the matter would be resolved
• With help from Cromwell, Henry's marriage to Catherine was finally annulled in May, 1533
• They had been married for almost 24 years
• Catherine was exiled from court and did not see her daughter again
• Protestant beliefs


  • Church services should be in a language everyone can understand
  • Ordinary people do not understand Latin
  • People should choose their own priests, they don't need bishops to choose them
• Protestants beliefs

  • The Bible is too difficult for ordinary people to understand
  • People should be guided by the Pope's heads
  • People do not need a priest or the Pope as a way to God, Jesus Christ is the way
  • Bread and wine is transformed into the body and blood of Christ during mass
  • Purgatory is a place where you clean your soul before entering heaven
  • Christians should be guided by the Bible, not people or the Pope, the Bible is the word of God
• Protestants believe


  The Bible should be translated into a language that ordinary people can understand so that they can read it for themselves
• Protestants believe


  Priests should be allowed to marry
• Protestants believe


  The ruler of the country is the Head of the Church
• Protestants believe


  Churches should be plain and simple, decoration draws attention away from God, they get rid of statues and pictures in churches, and priests are not special people they should wear simple clothes
• Protestants and Catholic believe


  What you believe is very important, you will go to hell for all eternity if you believe the wrong thing
• Catholic believe


  The Pope and bishops can forgive your sins if you donate a gift to the Church (an indulgence), you can buy your way into heaven
• Catholic believe


  The bishops should appoint priests, they know what's best
• Catholic believe


  Churches should be highly decorated with colour and fine statues of the saints, this shows the glory of God
• Catholic believe


  Priests should wear special robes to show their special status
• Catholic believe


  The Pope is the Head of the Church
• Catholic believe


  Church services should be in Latin as they have been for 1000 years, it's familiar and it feeds people's faith
• English Monarchs


  • King Henry VII (1485-1509)
  • King Henry VIII (1509-1547)
  • King Edward VI (1547-1953)
  • Queen Mary (1553-1558)
  • Queen Elizabeth I (1658-1603)
• Catholic


  The Pope is Head of the Church
• Middle Way


  The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church in England
• Service of the Mass

  1. The priest brings Christ to the people

  2. The bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Jesus (transubstantiation)
• Catholic Church


  • There should be statues of the saints and the Virgin Mary in church
  • Services and the Bible should be in Latin
  • A person is saved by going to church and doing good works
  • Priests should wear bright robes, and churches should have colourful paintings and beautiful music, to show how great God is
  • Priests must not marry
• Protestant


  • The minister must preach to the people, to tell them what the Bible says
  • The Communion service is just a service to remember Jesus' death
  • The bread and wine stay as bread and wine
• Protestant Church


  • Statues of the saints and the Virgin Mary are as bad as idols
  • Services and the Bible should be in English
  • A person is saved by faith, but a person with faith will do good works; because it pleases God
  • Churches must be kept clean and in good repair
  • Priests can marry
• Elizabeth's middle way
• Tension between England and Spain in the 1580s


  King Philip II of Spain was hostile to Queen Elizabeth's England
• Reasons for Philip II's hostility towards England


  • England had become a Protestant country, but Philip II wanted it to be Catholic again
  • Elizabeth I was helping the rebels fighting against Spain in the Low Countries
  • Elizabeth I had had the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots executed in 1587, and Philip wanted to avenge her death
  • English sailors were attacking Spanish ships and cities in the New World (in 1587 Drake had attacked Cadiz)