Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

Ses s i on 2: The Med i eva l Chur ch and the Reformat i on 51

G. The English distinction: Anglicanism (Episcopalianism) and the via media

1. Precursors: William Tyndale (ca. 1490-1536) translated a new version of Scripture from the original Hebrew and Greek into English; burned at the stake.

2. The reign and predicament of Henry VIII, the Reformation Parliament (1529-36) and the Act of Supremacy in 1534 which declared the sovereign of England to be “the only Supreme Head in earth of the Church of England.”

3. Thomas Cranmer: ca. 1489-1555, appointed by Henry to replace the archbishop of Canterbury, penned the Thirty-nine Articles during the reign of Edward VI, overseeing the first English Book of Common Prayer . (Note: there are few differences between the 1552 prayer book and the 1662 version, which literally reigned in worship houses of the Church of England for 300 years!)

4. Edward VI, too young to reign in his own right and who died after a few years, was succeeded by his half-sister, Mary Tudor, a staunch Catholic.

5. Mary did all she could to undo all the Protestant gains in England during previous reigns, executing Thomas Cranmer, the then archbishop of Canterbury, sending others into exile (hence the name, “Bloody Mary”).

6. Elizabeth I succeeded Mary and selected a more politically astute place, choosing the middle ground, built on national political concerns not theological issues (although during her reign Calvinism impacted greatly the doctrine and practice of the Church).