Asa H. Craig, (Asa Hollister), 1847-1934
THE origin of the Church of England is known to all students of history, and may be summarized as follows:
1. Henry VIII, of England, desired to obtain a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and thus be free to marry Anne Boleyn, a beautiful and vivacious maid of honor in the queen’s household.
2. The king petitioned Pope Clement VII to grant a suspension of Church authority and allow the divorce and second marriage.
3. The Pope refused to grant the request.
4. Henry, being highly indignant at the Pope’s refusal to violate the sacred tenets of marriage vows, declared himself Supreme Head of the English Catholics and compelled the clergy to recognize him as such.
5. Thomas Cranmer was promoted to the office of Arch-bishop of Canterbury, who, being a servile follower of the king, pronounced the marriage with Catherine invalid, and the one the king had already secretly contracted with Anne Boleyn to be lawful.
6. On March 23, 1534, the Pope cancelled this decision, which brought a complete rupture between the Pope and Henry.
7. The same year the Pope excommunicated Henry and relieved his subjects from their allegiance to him.
8. Persecution of Catholics by Henry and the establishment of the English Church.
At the time of the beginning of this chapter the people of England were devout Catholics. So earnest was Henry VIII in his zeal that Leo X, in 1521, rewarded him with the title of “Defender of the Faith.” At this time Martin Luther, an apostate monk, attempted to spread his new religion by scattering broadcast among the people his articles of faith and reasons for denouncing the Catholic Church. Henry was highly indignant at his audacity, and wrote articles strongly denouncing Luther for his religious opposition. For his earnest labors in condemning Martin Luther. he was rewarded by this special title, but strange to say, this most zealous of Christians afterwards became the bitterest enemy of the Catholic Church. From our standpoint of to-day it is hard to see how an earnest Christian can forsake his Church and become its enemy, but when we consider the make-up of the man, his willful and impetuous disposition, and his selfish propensities, we need not wonder at his traitorous conduct.
The reasons for this sudden denunciation of faith was not one of conscience, but one of a licentious and political nature. Henry’s marriage with Catherine had been prompted by policy and not by love. Five children had been born, but all had died except a daughter named Mary, who was in delicate health and might not reach womanhood, thus cutting off any direct heirship to his throne. Considering this question, and having become infatuated with the beauty and brilliancy of Anne Boleyn, he determined to secure a divorce from Catherine and take Anne as wife. Knowing that divorces were not permitted by the Catholic Church, he sought to evade the marriage law on the grounds of illegality, and petitioned the Pope to annul it This the Pope refused to do, and by the advice of Thomas Cromwell, a servile follower of the king, Henry decided to appoint Crammer, a Cambridge doctor, who supported him by publishing articles in favor of the divorce, to the high position of Archbishop of Canterbury. This new bishop immediately established a court, tried the case, and, of course, decided that the first marriage was not lawful because Catherine was the widow of his brother. The bishop also decided that the king’s marriage with Anne Boleyn, though secret, was legal and in harmony with the Church.
The Pope immediately excommunicated Henry, who determined on revenge and called Parliament, who, not daring to thwart the wishes of the king, passed the Act of Supremacy, which conferred upon Henry the absolute control of the various departments of the Church in England. By this act he was to be recognized as the Supreme Head, given control of its offices and revenues. In order to completely establish himself as the Supreme Head, an act was passed making a denial of this title as high treason. Henry was now given, not only the control of the Church, but the power to condemn to death anyone who might deny his right This was indeed a most lamentable position for the Catholics to occupy. To protest against the law was treason and to respect it was against their teachings of faith, but we must not censure these people too severely for yielding to the terrible declaration of the law. They were allowed to worship, but it must be in accordance with law.
By the enactment of this statute the Church was completely severed from the Roman See. Catholics were, under penalty of death, obliged to worship under the new dispensation, which became the Established Church of England. Thus, we have a condensed history of how and why this church came into existence, and we will now briefly recite some of the persecutions which followed.
King Henry had now established a little Popedom of his own invention, without divine authority, and in hostile opposition to all laws, edicts, and commands of the Catholic Church. He had declared himself greater than the Pope, and under the laws passed by his dictation he was dictator of how people should worship, what should be their belief, and what should be condemned. Among the doctrines he condemned were holy pilgrimages, belief in purgatory, representations of Christ and the Holy Virgin, historic relics, convents, monasteries, penance, and all forms of Pope authority. In the suppression of monasteries and convents it was a complete confiscation of all property, and if there was even murmuring at his unjust and high-handed acts, they were convicted of treason and executed. The executioner’s ax was constantly wet with the blood of all those who opposed his authority, or in any way incurred his displeasure. He required the head of every family, and teachers of schools, to teach the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the new creed. But, strange to say, Henry commanded, under penalty of death, an observance of the main tenets of the Catholic dogma, which were: Transubstantiation, Communion, Celibacy of the clergy, Vows, Mass for the dead, and auricular confession. By sustaining these articles of faith many Catholics were made contented, not knowing nor realizing the conflict between Henry and the Church of Rome.
In the confiscation of. property nearly one-fifth of the lands of the kingdom belonged to the Church, which was turned to the control of the king, who disposed of it to the greatest advantage to himself. He founded schools and colleges; established incomes for the support of churches and bishoprics; made donations to officers and favorites, but the greater portion was distributed among those whose influence was necessary to sustain him in his new position. By this wholesale disposition of property vast estates were established which created a powerful English aristocracy, which to-day is in existence and can be taced to this origin. Thus, was the English Church and its most devoted followers financially rewarded by the self-appointed Supreme Head. To call this new Creed Protestant would be an injustice to the orthodox belief, and to call it Catholic would be an insult to the Church of Rome, who denied the illegal marriage, who refused to violate the laws of marriage, and who excommunicated their Supreme Head for this violation.
The extent of confiscation may be realized when history informs us that, altogether, there were 90 colleges, 110 hospitals, 2,374 chantries and chapels, 645 monasteries, and 540 convents broken up and the property given to advance the cause of the new Church and the popularity of Henry himself. The establishment of lands for the benefit of churches was a move to place the new church upon a solid financial foundation, for in all ages, money, lands, wealth, is a great physician in easing the consciences of men. Henry was the physician and the confiscated property the prescription that gave life, strength, and ambition to the Church of England.
If this, only, had been the record of Henry VIII we might view his acts as those of ambition, but his apostasy, denunciation, confiscation, and bribery, pale beneath the malignant persecution of Catholics. Nero was always a pagan and knew nothing of Christianity, but Henry was raised a Catholic, worshiped a Catholic, defended the faith as a Catholic, but to gratify his lust, his power, and his ambition, he became one of the greatest apostates the world ever saw. His only excuse was his passions. He had no cause to denounce, no religion to disagree with, and no philosophy to advance. His denunciations were the most corrupt, vicious, immoral, and depraved
that have been recorded in the pages of English history. When we speak of the atrocious crimes which he committed against his subjects we shudder at his wickedness. The illustrious Sir Thomas More, the venerable Bishop Fisher, and others, became victims of execution. Also, we find recorded that he ordered the execution of two queens, two cardinals, two archbishops, eighteen bishops, thirteen abbots, five hundred priors and monks, thirty-eight doctors of divinity and laws, one hundred and twenty-four commoners, sixty-four gentlemen, twelve dukes and earls, and one hundred and ten ladies of rank, and all because their conscience would not allow them to denounce their worship and become apostates to the Catholic Church. They refused to recognize the king as the Supreme Head of the Church, and lay down their lives as a sacrifice to their fidelity to truth, honor, and Christian faith.
Besides this, we find in his own household a history as monstrous as the history of his Christian apostasy. To expose his private life is to write a disgraceful page in the history of the kings of England. After disposing of Catherine of Aragon by a forced divorce, he marries the beautiful and accomplished Anne Boleyn, but tiring of her, he issues a charge of unworthiness and she is executed by his own order. The next day after the execution of Anne he married Jane Seymour, who died the following year. His fourth wife was Anne of Cleves, who was cast aside on the grounds of a previous betrothal, and Catherine Howard became the next victim to his shameful lust and cruelty. Like Anne Boleyn, she was executed at his command, and gave room for his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, who was a discreet woman, and by tact and wisdom managed to retain his respect and survived his death.
This tyrant died in 1547, in the thirty-eighth year of his reign. And now, as we look back to his history and see the inconsistency of his request to Pope Clement VII, and the villainy of outraged decency, criminal responsibility, and the desecration of God’s holy command, we can have only loathing and disgust for his memory. He lived a life of depravity and disgrace; a life of murderous sin; a life of blasphemous shame; a life devoid of every Christian principle, every Christian form of reverence, and every Christian virtue. And yet society glories in his existence, and glories in its long line of ancestry. He established a nobility on the ruins of confiscation, rapine, and murder. He executed queens, nobles, and illustrious men. He desecrated churches, schools, colleges, and burned their sacred vestments. He bribed ministers of the gospel, prostituted Parliament, established his own courts, vilified God, and served Satan in all the wickedness of thought, deed, and action. Few men in the world’s history can carry the record of Henry VIII. His triumphs through disgrace is a long line of wicked villainy, and without one act to commend, he stands a monument to himself, a mass of sickening sensuality, of honest loathing, and of beastly triumph.