REVIEW
We are continuing in our study that we have been engaging in here in our adult class on Wednesday evenings, looking at the history of the church. Of course, we saw that the church was prophesied in Old and New Testament prophecy; it was foreseen. The church has always been a part of God’s plan. The church was established on the Day of Pentecost, and we saw the progress of that 1st Century church.
However, we noted that it would not be too many years before the church would begin to develop problems and become apostate. We believe that there has always been a faithful remnant of the church. The point is that we saw the digression of the church that the Lord built into something that was completely different—completely unrecognizable, and it would eventually become the Roman Catholic Church.
In the past few sessions, we have been looking at the Reformation—an attempt on the part of a number of individuals to reform the Roman Catholic Church. And in previous session, we have been looking at the Reformation as it took place on the continent. And tonight, we want to begin looking at the Reformation as it begins to take place in England, even the British Isles.
INTRODUCTION
As important as was the continental Reformation, the Reformation in the British Isles has even greater significance for most American Protestants. As we engage in this study, and studies to follow, we will begin to hear some things that are, perhaps, more familiar to us in terms of some of the names and some of the events, etc., not only because they they’re a bit closer to us chronologically, but also, there are going to be names that we will be familiar, and there will be things that are specifically of interest to us as Americans, because the Reformation, and those who were part of that, will have a significant amount of impact upon the establishment and development of America. Indeed, it is impossible to understand American Protestantism without some knowledge of the English Reformation.
The English Reformation, or, the Reformation that took place in the British Isles, had a peculiar life of its own. It really, in some ways, followed along in a certain way with that which was happening on the continent, none the least of which was the time period. The events that we looked at, the things that were taking place on the continent, beginning in the early part of the 16th Century and continuing through the mid-point of the 17th Century, were happening at about the same time frame that we are looking at here in the English Reformation.
CAUSES OF THE BRITISH REFORMATION
The Intellectual Preparation
We have noticed that, just as the Reformation on the continent of Europe didn’t just spring out of nowhere, that there were some activities and things which took place which led to that, the same thing can be said for the Reformation in Britain. We have mentioned previously in this study about the work of one named John Wycliffe. He was a 14th Century scholar in Oxford, England. He would begin, even at that time, resisting the Roman Catholic Church, speaking out against the Roman Catholic Church, and in a very, very small way, in a fairly isolated way, begin something of a reformation. And there would be a group of followers that would follow after, and they became knows as “the Lollards.” And while Wycliffe would, of course, die, this movement that he had begin, and this people called the Lollards, even though they would be persecuted, they would continue their emphasis on the Bible, just as Wycliffe had done—going back to the Bible; looking at the Bible. This would continue; this was sort of a precursor to the major part of the Reformation.
There were some other things that were going on. As the 16th Century opened, there was a good bit of intellectual and scholastic foment, some unrest—fervency, agitation—that was taking place in English universities—at Cambridge, for example, and especially Oxford, where just about 150 to 175 years before, Wycliffe had been there doing this very same thing. Individuals named John Colet and Thomas More, along with the Dutch scholar and reformer, Erasmus, who had been invited to come to England, were prominent leaders in this movement. William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale were active in translating the Bible into English during this period, and making attempts to distribute it—attempts that were resisted, in large measure, by the Catholic church, and even to some extent by the Church of England at this time.
Tyndale would be martyred for his efforts, but the work that he had aroused, the interest in an English translation of the Scriptures and going back to the Bible, like his predecessor, Wycliffe, would continue. And this would, of course, not escape the attention of the pope and other of the officials in Rome.
Henry VIII
The wives of the king and his desire for a son would serve as the occasion for the beginning of the English reform. Henry would eventually be excommunicated by the pope and he would become head to the Church of England.
The English Reformation really had its beginning in earnest with Henry VIII. He had a desire to divorce his wife, Catherine [of Aragon; married 1509 – 1533, divorced]. Of course, there would be some other women involved here. There would be the desire on his part for a male child. We want to spend a little time with this, because it is interesting history, and some that you may remember.
Catherine had been married to Arthur, and Arthur was Henry’s brother. But, Arthur had died just a short while following their marriage. Now, for political reasons Henry wanted to marry Catherine. But, it was a violation of the canon law for a man to marry his brother’s widow. So, Henry needed a papal dispensation in order to be able to marry her. Well, the dispensation was granted, and Henry eventually married Catherine. Several children were born to this couple, but only one of them, a daughter, would survive. Henry desperately desired to have a male heir, and because of the experience that he was having in the number of children, the number of attempts to have children, the number of children who died, and so on, he began to believe that God was disapproving of his marriage, and this was God’s way of showing him His disapproval of his marriage.
Well, the feeling intensified on the part of Henry, no doubt, though, because not only did he have this concern about the way God thought about the marriage, but another woman had caught his eye…oh, by the way…Anne Boleyn [married 1533 – 1536, executed], and he had a growing attraction to her. Thus, after twenty years of marriage to Catherine, Henry appealed to the pope to have his marriage to Catherine annulled. Well, had the political situation been different, Henry probably would have been able to gain this desired annulment. However, the pope could not afford to offend Catherine’s nephew, who…oh, by the way…was Emperor Charles V, who was the Holy Roman Emperor AND the King of Spain. The pope had a problem: Henry wanted an annulment, but he couldn’t offend the nephew of Catherine, and so, Henry loses out. Henry doesn’t get his annulment. So, for political reasons, the pope refused to annul Henry and Catherine’s marriage.
But Henry is not going to have his love unrequited [to not make retaliation for; to not avenge]. He will turn to other sources. And so, he turns to the English Parliament, which, in 1533, declared the Church of England to be the judge—the competent judge—in this matter. Henry was immediately granted a divorce by Archbishop Cranmer [Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury], the Archbishop of the Church of England and this, once again, by the decree of the English Parliament. As a result of this action, the pope excommunicated Henry. And then, to complete the breach between the Church of England and Rome, Parliament took steps to make Henry the head of the English church.
Well, this was the catalyst, or sort of the precursor, to the reform that would take place here in England. Now, some would protest Henry’s actions and a few so strenuously that Henry had them executed. That’s one way to get rid of your opposition, I suppose. Among those executed was Thomas More, who we had mentioned earlier. He was the humanist scholar whose work had, in many ways, anticipated the English Reformation. However, there were many who accepted the break with Rome with enthusiasm, and then after a few more were executed, many more fell in line and just accepted it. Imagine that.
THE ENGLISH REFORMATION UNDER HENRY
Well, Henry was a conservative reformer, particularly when compared to activities such as Luther and Calvin, which took place on the continent. He was shrewd. He had a lot of political savvy, and he realized that if he were to undertake many very far-reaching reforms, many of his subjects would become upset. And I suppose he reasoned that he could not execute them all. And so, we see that the Church of England, rather than going afar away from the Roman Catholic Church, stayed fairly closely aligned with it. As a matter of fact, in 1536, a theological statement, called “The Ten Articles,” was issued. This certainly was not a radical Protestant document of any sort. As a matter of fact, it retained many of the Catholic tenants as a part of this. For example, such things as masses for the dead, the use if images, and the invocation of “saints”—all of these things were addressed in these Ten Articles, and they remained a part of the structure and part of the worship of the Church of England. Three years later, Parliament passed “The Six Articles,” and these were even more conservative, for they advocated such things as transubstantiation.
During this period, the Church of England was so conservative that many who were advocating more radical reform longed for ones like Luther and Zwingli—the word of what they were doing in Central Europe and in Switzerland had migrated to England—and some longed for that kind of reform. Well, those ones who were most vociferous—those ones who spoke out the most loudly about this, and complained that Henry was not moving the Church of England far enough and fast enough away from the Catholic Church—they, too, were executed.
In spite of this conservative approach to reform, Henry did take two specific actions that were very much oriented and identified with the Protestant movement—the pro-test-ant movement—and an active reform. The first one was that all of the monasteries—all of the Catholic monasteries—were dissolved. Now, some question Henry’s motives in doing this. Some say that it was part of the reform to move the Church of England away from the Catholic Church. Others, though, think that he had his eye on the great wealth that was contained in and around many of these monasteries. And, in fact, as those monasteries were dissolved, the property and the wealth of those monasteries were confiscated and went into the royal coffers. So, that may make us wonder, as well, about what was Henry’s real motivation.
The other distinctly Protestant action that Henry took during his reign was the publication of the Bible in the English language. Just a few years before, Tyndale’s translation was smuggled into England and was circulated secretly. Tyndale was eventually martyred, as we have mentioned; but, ironically, his translation, which had been so much opposed by church authorities, became the basis, in part, at least, for the Coverdale Bible, and for the Great Bible [of 1539], that were approved by the authorities.
That’s a little bit about Henry, but the Reformation will continue.
CONTINUED REFORMATION AND REACTION
The Reformation Continues Under Edward I
Next, we will see the Reformation continuing under Edward I. Well, who was Edward I? Back to Henry. Henry did not solve his marital problems by disposing of Catherine and marrying Anne Boleyn. Anne bore him a daughter, Elizabeth. But, Henry soon tired of Anne, and she was executed for infidelity. History is not clear on the charge, but many, if not most, historians believe that she was not unfaithful at all, that this was a trumped- up charge by Henry.
And so, along comes Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour. And Jane Seymour would bear him the son that he wanted so desperately. The son’s name would be Edward I, and he would come to the throne upon Henry’s death in 1547. Edward I, though, was a frail child—he was not well. And he would be around ten years old at the time of Henry’s death in 1547—at the time he assumed the throne. Since he was a minor, the actual decisions of state were made by a series of regents.
Now, these regents reflected Protestant sympathies, and as a result of that, England moved toward a more definitely Protestant position. The “Catholic-flavored” Six Articles that we mentioned before were rescinded. Images were removed from churches, and restrictions on circulating the Bible were also removed. Under the Archbishop—remember Archbishop Cranmer? He is the one who issued the divorce decree for Henry so that he could divorce Catherine—under this Archbishop, the Book of Common Prayer was issued. The Prayer Book, and its later revisions, which turned definitely away from many of the practices and the terms of the Roman Catholic Church…. Interestingly enough, this Common Prayer Book, which was written and prepared in the middle part of the 16th Century, is still the guide for worship today for the Church of England.
Well, the Archbishop was also largely responsible for formulating what would become The Forty-Two Articles, later to be revised downward to The Thirty-Nine Articles. And, this would set forth the doctrinal position of the Church of England.
All of these actions served to bring the English Reformation closer to the position that was occupied by the continental reformers, such men as Luther and Calvin and Zwingli—those ones we have already spoken about. On the whole, the English people seemed ready to follow their monarch in these moves.
The Reaction Under Mary
We mentioned that Edward I was not well, that he assumed the throne at the mere age of ten years, but he would die before he reached the age of sixteen. And this brought Mary, who was the daughter of Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to the throne of England in 1553. Mary was rigidly Catholic in her convictions, and she would soon make efforts to return England to the Roman fold. This, in fact, was accomplished in 1554 when England was received back into the communion of the Roman Catholic Church.
Mary, in the meantime, was married to her cousin, Philip, who was soon to become Philip II of Spain, and this union with Catholic Spain seemed certain to ensure that England would remain Catholic. Many of those in England opposed this return to Catholicism. In order to break the opposition, about three hundred of those who were opposing this move back to Catholicism were executed. What is it about speaking out, and losing your head? By the way, these executions earned Mary the nickname of “Bloody Mary.”
Well, among the most famous of the victims were the theologians, Lattimer and Ridley, along with good old Archbishop Cranmer, all of whom were executed at Oxford. Lattimer is reputed to have said at the stake, “Be of good cheer, Master Ridley. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as, I trust, shall never be put out.”
Protestantism Returns Under Elizabeth I
Fortunately for the Protestants in England—those desiring and supporting reform and moving away from the Catholic Church—Mary’s reign only lasted for five years. She was succeeded in 1558 by her half-sister, the famous Elizabeth I, who reigned until 1603. She is well-known in English history, and she is the namesake of the current Queen of England. Under Elizabeth I, the church in England once more moved toward Protestantism.
It must be acknowledged, however, that in her actions Elizabeth was motivated more by political concerns than by deep, religious convictions. By the Act of Supremacy in 1559—and this was an act of Parliament—the authority of the Pope over and in the Church of England was denied, and Elizabeth was made Supreme Governor of the realm, which included the spiritual as well as the secular. Later, The Thirty-Nine Articles were issued as a definition of the doctrinal position of the Church of England.
Elizabeth, however, did have problems. Some Roman Catholics, unwilling to accept this arrangement, plotted against Elizabeth. They were aided by some Jesuits, and they hoped to put the Catholic, Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, on the English throne. This led Elizabeth to imprison Mary in the Tower of London, and eventually execute her.
Well, not only did Elizabeth have these kinds of problems going on domestically, but she also had foreign problems, as well. Philip II of Spain had hoped that Elizabeth would marry him, and thus keep England closely tied to Spain. Elizabeth skillfully postponed the fulfillment of these hopes without destroying them. She knew that if England were to become powerful, if they were to get to be on a par with other countries such as Spain, that she could not keep England tied to Spain—dependant upon Spain. She also knew that England was not yet strong enough to challenge Spain. Philip would finally realize that Elizabeth was not going to marry him—that she was just, as we say these days, “stringing him along.” And so, he would send his famous Armada against England.
Long before the end of Elizabeth’s reign, those who sought to make the Church of England more Protestant, to move it further and faster away from the Catholic Church, became numerous. Because they sought to purify the church from all traces of Romanism, they became knows as “the Puritans.” They objected, for example, to such things as the vestments required for the clergy; they objected to any acts of the observance of the Lord’s Supper that might suggest the bodily presence of Christ [transubstantiation], and so on. Many also felt that the Episcopal form of church government was foreign to the Bible, and they desired the Presbyterian form, instead.
Let me explain what that means. The Episcopal form of government is the type of government that emerged in the Roman Catholic Church where bishops were appointed. We talked about the hierarchy of bishops that developed. That is that type of government. The Presbyterian form of government in the church is actually the biblical form, that is, each congregation being overseen by elders, or, presbyters [also called overseers, shepherds]. And so, once again, those who were called “Puritans”, or became known as the Puritans, objected to the “bishop,” or, Episcopal, form of government, and they supported, rather, the Presbyterian form of government.
Well, they would break completely with the Church of England, and they formed independent congregations. The famous Pilgrims, who were so much a part of the history of this country in the early 17th Century, were “Separatists” or “Independents,” springing from the Puritans. The origins of the English Baptists and Congregationalists may be found, as well, among some of these Separatists groups, having emerged from, and separating themselves from, the Church of England.
THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
From Tudors to Stuarts
We need to turn our attention, briefly, to the Reformation as it was taking place in Scotland. Of course, we’re looking at the Reformation on the continent and the Reformation that took place in the British Isles, the primary activity being in England. But, there were also some notable things that were taking place to the north in Scotland during this time, as well. One name that we have already mentioned and that you are familiar with otherwise is John Knox. John Knox was to the Scottish Reformation what Martin Luther was to the German Reformation.
Through a series of events that are really fairly complicated and somewhat convoluted, John Knox had already begun his work of Reformation in Scotland, but he would eventually be in England. And the period of time that he was in England was when “Bloody Mary” came to the throne. And you recall that her efforts were to stop the move toward Protestantism, and to revert back to Catholicism. And so, since John Knox was in England at this time, and because he could not return to his native Scotland because of some things that had transpired previously, he would, rather, flee to the continent. He would eventually wind up in Geneva, Switzerland. There, he would come under the influence of John Calvin. You remember that we spent some time talking about Calvin when we were discussing the Reformation that took place in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, while Knox is in Geneva, the Reformation in Scotland is actually making progress. There was at this time sort of a “nominal ruler” of Scotland, and her name was Mary Stuart. She is known as “Mary Queen of Scots.” At the age of sixteen, Mary married Francis II, the prince of France [in April of 1558. In July of the year 1559, Francis became King of France and Mary became Queen of France, even though at the same time she was Queen of Scotland.]. Well, this caused quite a bit of stir in Scotland for two reasons, primarily, none the least of which was because the thought of Scotland being tied to France through marriage was a thought that the people did not want to consider—they did not appreciate that. As I mentioned, she was something of a nominal ruler. She was actually living in France at the time that this marriage took place, ruling Scotland from afar. And all of these things, then, as they transpired, caused the people of Scotland to become more interested in, and to listen to, those who were the reformers of the day.
Well, John Knox returned to Scotland in 1555. And then, in 1557, an all-out effort was mounted to oust the French and the French influence from Scotland—from the country, from the government, and so on—and a civil war would follow. Mary, who had by this time returned to Scotland—she was in residence in Scotland at this time of the civil war—would eventually have to flee to England to find sanctuary. When she left, she left in such haste—leaving under the circumstances of the civil war—that she had to leave her infant son, James VI, in Scotland.
Under John Knox, the Scottish Reformation continued, and the country and the influence became more and more Protestant than the reform that was going on in England at the time. For one thing, the influence of Calvin was strong. If you remember our discussion a number of weeks ago about John Calvin, you recall that he advocated something of a church-state government. He was a very, very strong reformer, and he invoked a number of very strict moral laws, and that kind of thing, over the people. Knox was influenced by Calvin, having been exposed to his teachings and studying under him, etc. So, many of Calvin’s teachings would be carried over to Scotland by Knox.
The Scottish church, although it was the established church—was state sponsored—enjoyed much greater freedom from the state than did the Church of England, its counterpart in England. In its form of government, the Scottish church became Presbyterian. And we talked about this, the distinguishing of this form of government being led by Presbyters, by multiples of presbyters, or elders. John Knox died in 1572, but his influence continued, even reaching, eventually, to America. That, of course, was in the form of Presbyterianism, the denomination of the Presbyterians.
England Under James I
Well, now, back to England. What we have discussed previously has a connection with what will follow.
Elizabeth I died in 1603. When she died, there was no successor to the throne who was part of the House of Tudor. The House of Tudor had reigned in England for about 150 years, beginning with Henry II. Since a daughter of Henry VII had married into the Stuarts—and you remember that Mary Queen of Scots was Mary Stuart—who was the ruling family in Scotland, James VI, that infant son whom Mary had left behind when she fled Scotland to England, was the King of Scotland at this time. But, because of that distant family connection, James VI could also make the claim to the throne of England. Thus it was that James VI of Scotland became James I of England. The two countries were not united at this time; they simply shared the same monarch.
James I ascended to the throne of England, and thus he would reign over both of these countries. The Puritans in England anticipated that the coming of James I to the throne would benefit their cause. Why? Because he had been reared in Scotland as a Scottish Presbyterian. But, the Puritans would be doomed to disappointment, for James favored not the Presbyter form of rule and government of the church; rather, he favored the Episcopal form of church rule. And, you recall that the Episcopal form of church rule is having that central bishop, that central individual, who rules, reigns, over the church. It was not unusual that one who was a monarch, one who was a king, would prefer this type of rule, as well, in the church.
In 1603, as James was on his way to London, he was presented with a petition. This petition asked for further reforms in the English church. Early in 1604, a conference of bishops and Puritans came to Hampton Court and met with King James I. James made it very clear on this occasion that he was not interested in, nor was he willing to bargain, or to even listen to, the Puritans. He would issue a threat, an ultimatum, to them. Here is the statement that he is quoted as making, that he would “harry [to torment, or worry] them out of the land, or worse” if they did not conform.
Well, was all for naught? Was there anything of any significance, anything very memorable, that would come out of this conference at Hampton Court in 1604? Oh, indeed there was! Perhaps the most important thing, the most memorable thing that came from this conference was James’ consent for a new translation of the Bible into English. This new translation was published in 1611, and is known as what? It is known as the Authorized, or King James Version, of the Bible. It became widely circulated immediately. When it was published in England, it became very, very popular. It became the standard, and remains so. The last statistics I saw concerning the King James Version of the Bible show that it remains the best-selling, the most popular, translation of the English Bible. I thought that was quite interesting, particularly when we learn sort of the round about way, this circuitous route that James took, and the fact that he was also monarch of Scotland, as well as England. Very interesting.
The Puritans were disappointed in James’ attitude and his unwillingness to employ, to invoke, the things that they desired. However, the Roman Catholics did not fare any better than the Puritans under James. Restrictions against Roman Catholics led to the infamous “Gunpowder Plot” in 1605. There were a few fanatical Catholics who placed several barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament building, hoping to destroy both James and the Parliament. But, the authorities were warned by some sympathizers, and thus, this disaster was prevented. However, the plot did lead to further restrictions against the Catholics.
England Under Charles I
James’ successor to the throne of England and Scotland was Charles I, who became king in 1625. Under James, even though he would not cooperate with all that they desired and would not put into practice all that they wished, the Puritans had still grown in strength to the point where they had become the majority and the ruling power in the Parliament. Charles, who believed even more strongly than did his father in the divine right of kings, simply could not cope with this very hostile Parliament. Finally, in 1629, he dismissed and disbanded the Parliament, and he attempted to rule England by himself until 1640, with no aid from the Parliament. Perhaps Charles’ most serious error was in attempting to force the Episcopal form of church government and the Prayer Book on Presbyterian Scotland. The Scots rebelled, and in order to raise money to carry on the war against them, Charles was forced to call Parliament back into session. This fight that would take place pitted the forces of the king, who were called the Cavaliers, against the forces of Parliament, who were called the Roundheads, of all things.
England Under the Protestant Radicals
The Parliamentary forces were capably led by Oliver Cromwell, a well-known name in the history of England. They would finally defeat the king’s forces. This triumph of the Parliamentarians, led by Cromwell, led to a power vacuum in the country, and it was a vacuum that Cromwell was more than willing to step into. He would become a virtual dictator in this period of time. Charles was condemned, and he was beheaded. This action that they had undertaken sent a veritable shockwave throughout, not just England and the British Isles, but throughout all of Europe. It caused the Cromwellian forces to be considered more radical and more brutal than they really were. As a matter of fact, history records that England enjoyed a period, at this time, of greater freedom of religion than they had ever known before. It was during this time that almost every religious group, including the Roman Catholics, was permitted to worship in accordance with their conscience, so long as they did not disturb the public peace.