Day 2 AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY

AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY

Augustine of Canterbury (534-604), not to be confused with Augustine of Hippo (353-430), is considered the “Apostle to the English.” In 595, Pope Gregory the Great chose Augustine to Christianize Britain. When Augustine arrived in 597, he based himself in Canterbury.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ENGLISH REFORMATION

The English Reformation developed along two fronts. First, there was a spiritual reformation in the hearts of the people even before Martin Luther. Second, the breaking away from the Catholic Church was based on politics, specifically the desires of King Henry VIII.

SPIRITUAL REFORMATION

The spiritual reformation began when Luther’s writings and ideas made their way to England (Actually, before that, with John Wycliffe (1328-1384), John Huss (1372-1415), William Tyndale (1494- 1536), and others. We’ll discuss them further when we visit Oxford). There was already an underground Lollard movement in England. Lollards were disciples of John Wycliffe and “eagerly seized on the new Lutheran revolt against Rome and made it their own.”4 Many of them were captured and put to death for refusing to follow the Catholic doctrine.

One church historian wrote about this period of history:

The sun of the Word of God, which daily grew brighter in the sky of the sixteenth century, was sufficient to scatter all the darkness in England; but popery, like an immense wall, intercepted its rays. Britain had hardly received the Scriptures in Greek and Latin, and then in English, before the priests began to make war upon them with indefatigable zeal. It was necessary that the wall should be thrown down in order that the sun might penetrate freely among the Anglo-Saxon people.5

POLITICAL REFORMATION

King Henry VIII (1491-1547) was crowned King of England on April 22, 1509, and reigned until he died. His first wife was Catherine of Argon. They were married for 24 years (1509-1533), but did not have a male heir. (They did have a daughter, Mary Tudor.) Catherine had been the wife of Henry’s brother, Arthur. He married her after Arthur died. When she did not have a male heir, Henry felt the marriage was cursed based on Leviticus 20:21.

Henry sought to have the marriage dissolved by Pope Clement VII (1523-34). Catherine was the aunt of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, to whom Clement was indebted. So, Clement refused.

First, Henry sent his confidant, Cardinal Wolsey, to pressure the Pope, but to no avail. Second, through the “Reformation Parliament,” which Henry organized in 1529, the English Church was separated from the authority of the Pope. Finally, in the Act of Supremacy, Henry was declared the head of the Church of England.6 Those who refused to sign the act were executed. Henry continued to believe in much Catholic theology and persecuted some protestants as well (e.g., Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-37).

Protestantism advanced in England under Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540) and Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556). Cromwell was Henry’s Prime Minister and oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries throughout England. Cromwell also promoted an official English translation of the Bible, which he helped finance out of his personal funds. In 1537, the Bible was allowed to be published in London. Cromwell commanded every Anglican Church to secure the “Great Bible.”

Thomas Cranmer supported Henry’s case for divorce from Catherine on the grounds of Leviticus 20:21. As a reward, Henry made Cranmer the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533.

Historian Nick Needham writes:

By Henry’s death in 1547, Protestantism was firmly established in southern England, especially in London. Much of it was the product of the spiritual Reformation which had been going on alongside Henry’s political Reformation…. English Protestantism was also unique in being neither fully Lutheran nor fully Reformed; it developed an individual character of its own, marked by an intense love for the Bible, an emphasis on vital personal godliness, and a swelling English nationalism which saw England as God’s chosen nation, always at the forefront of His purposes in history….7

Henry never embraced Protestantism. He held to Catholic doctrine and punished outspoken protestants. In 1539, he declared the test of orthodoxy in his “Six Articles” that reaffirmed transubstantiation and celibate priesthood. Cranmer opposed the articles in the House of Lords but survived due to Henry’s love for Cranmer.8

King and Queens of England (1547-1820)9

Edward VI (1547-1553)

Protestantism was promoted aggressively. The Church of England became more Reformed. The Book of Common Prayer was introduced. There were services in English, and images were removed from churches. Persecution of Catholics increased.

Mary I (1553–1558) (“Bloody Mary”)

Catholic. Reversed Protestant reforms and restored papal authority. Some 300 Protestants were burned at the stake, and 100 died in prison. Protestant leaders, Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, and Hooper, were among those who died. Ridley and Latimer were burned together at Oxford. Latimer said, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; for we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”10 Check out Foxes Book of Martyrs, where John Foxe (1516-87) chronicles these deaths.

Elizabeth I (1558–1603)

Anglican. Catholics were tolerated, but persecution increased after there was a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and install a Catholic monarch. Puritans (more radical Protestants) were suppressed.

James I (1603–1625)

Anglican. Authorized King James Version of the Bible (1611). Suspicious of Puritans. In 1610, the Pilgrims left England due to persecution and took refuge in Holland. After a decade in Holland, they sailed for America in 1620 to seek religious freedom. The Pilgrims were Puritans who separated themselves from the Church of England (Separatists) and established their own congregations.

Charles I (1625–1649)

Protestant. Clashed with Puritans. Policies and perceived favoritism of Catholicism contributed to the English Civil War (1642-1651).

Interregnum (1649–1660)

No monarch. Commonwealth/Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell and his son, Richard Cromwell. Both were Puritans. Anglicans and Catholics were suppressed. Strict moral codes enforced.

Charles II (1660–1685)

Protestant. Leaned Catholic. Dissenters (Puritans, Baptists, etc.) faced suspensions. 

James II (1685–1688)

Catholic. Promoted Catholicism. Alienated Protestants. Actions led to the Glorious Revolution (1688-89), due to fear of Catholics taking over. 

William III and Mary II (1689–1694) (joint reign)

Reinforced Protestantism. The Toleration Act (1689) allowed freedom to worship to non-Anglicans and Protestants (but not Catholics). 

William III (1694–1702) (alone)

Continued religious policies favoring Protestants. 

Queen Anne (1702–1714)

Protestant who was a strong supporter of the Church of England levied legal penalties on Dissenters. Act of Union (1707) with Scotland created Great Britain and allowed for Presbyterianism in Scotland and Anglicanism in England. 

George I (1714–1727)

Lutheran background. Became an Anglican when his reign began. Protestant dissenters were tolerated with some restrictions. 

George II (1727–1760)

Anglican. Dissenters (Methodists, Baptists, Quakers) were under legal restrictions but tolerated. Catholics were barred from public office and Parliament.

George III (1760–1820)

Anglican. Rise of Methodism under John Wesley. Protestant Dissenters were more tolerated over time.

4 Needham, 2000 Years of Christ Power, Vol. 3, 354.
5 J. H. Merle d’Aubigne, Edited by S. M. Houghton, The Reformation in England, Vol. 1 (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1853, 1985), 299. 
6 The Church of England or Church of the English was a church for Anglo’s thus becoming the Anglican Church.
7 Needham, 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, 387.
8 Ibid., 387.
9 The following research was aided in part by ChatGPT. 
10 Needham, 2000 years of Christ’s Power, 394.