Henry VIII’s Defense of the Seven Sacraments
King Henry VIII 1491-1547 In 1521, just four years after supposedly posting his famous “Ninety-five theses” on a church door in Wittenberg, and the same month he was excommunicated, Martin Luther published a controversial work called The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. This book denounced the seven sacraments as corruptions and papist inventions. When Luther’s […]
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
Victor R. Claveau, MJ Both Sts. Benedict and Francis lived long before the Protestant revolt in England and it should not surprise anyone that they would continue to be venerated by Anglicans. The Franciscan story within the Anglican Church is a relatively recent one. All vowed religious orders, including the Franciscans, were dissolved during the […]
Catholic Ireland against Protestant England
Victor R. Claveau, MJ Let us take a brief look at how the Protestant Reformation affected Ireland.[1] The one tie which might have bound Ireland to England was severed by the same stroke which cut England off from Rome. King Henry appointed an apostate Augustinian monk name George Brown (? – 1556) as Archbishop of […]
Dissolution of the Monasteries During the Protestant Revolt in England
Victor R. Claveau, MJ The great abbeys and monasteries,[1] lying quiet and calm and unexciting ruled their extensive lands with masterful charity. They were good neighbors and hospitable. The organization of these properties, the hospitals and leper houses were managed with solicitude for the poor. The “monks of old” enjoyed the favorable opinion of the […]
The Anti-Catholic Articles of Henry VIII
The Statute of Six Articles[1] Henry’s conscience had bothered him for the duration of his exile from Roman Catholicism. Periodically, it was evidenced, as in his institution of the Six Articles Act in 1539, that Henry never truly wanted to change the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church; however, disgruntled that the Pope would not […]
Brief Historical Overview on the State of Affairs During this Period of Henry VIII
The British Government published the following from the British National Archives on the state of the country in the 16th Century: “During this period, religious unity was thought necessary to keep a country together. Religious tolerance was therefore out of the question. Furthermore, the religion of the country depended on the religious views of the […]
Death of King Henry VIII
Reportedly, King Henry had suffered from smallpox and malaria, and at 44 had a leg badly injured in a jousting accident, from which he recovered, but later the area reopened and he suffered severe recurring ulcerations. He could no longer exercise regularly and became obese, his weight going up to more than 320 lbs. Reportedly, […]
King Henry VIII: From Defender to Schismatic
Victor R. Claveau, MJ The story of the English Revolt against Catholicism begins with King Henry VIII. In the early stages of his reign, he was a well-meaning, informed and obedient Catholic, but as he advanced in age, he allowed his inordinate desires of the flesh to get the better of him. In an all-consuming […]
King Henry VIII Defends Catholicism Against Martin Luther
Victor R. Claveau, MJ In 1521, just four years after purportedly posting his famous “Ninety-five theses” on a church door in Wittenberg, and on the same month he was excommunicated, Martin Luther published a controversial work called The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. This book denounced the seven sacraments as corruptions and papist inventions. When […]
Henry VIII
King of England, born 28 June, 1491; died 28 January, 1547. He was the second son and third child of his father, Henry VII. His elder brother Arthur died in April, 1502, and consequently Henry became heir to the throne when he was not yet quite eleven years old. It has been asserted that Henry’s […]