The Church of England

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Реферат по страноведению на тему:

«The Church of England»

Москва, 2002

The Church of England

Content:

Introduction ………………………………………………………………..…………3

I. History of the Church of England

1) Status of Church in England up to 1530 ………………………..4

2) Reformation of Church ……………………………………………4

Henry VII…………………………………………………………….4

Edward VI……………………………………………………………6

Mary I………………………………………………………………...6

Elizabeth I……………………………………………………………7

Charles II…………………………………………………….……….8

Victoria ……………………………………………………….………8

II. The Church of England today…………………………………………………..9

1) The essence of being an Anglican………………………………………..9

2) Organisation of the Church of England ………………………………….11

III. Church of England becomes an International Church……………………...12

Conclusions………………………………………………………………………….13

Bibliography.…………………………………………………………………………14

Introduction

Everything in this life has its own history, especially Religion, as it is

a great institution. With the development of history of a particular

country, there will always be development of Religion, since the Church is

an integral part of State System. Heathenism, Orthodoxy, Judaism etc.. They

have been living for centuries. And some of them were changed, penetrated

each other or reformed dramatically.

England was not exception.

The English are not a deeply religious race. Hundreds of years ago they

decided that Roman Catholicism with its teachings about original sin and

the unworthiness of the human race could not really have been meant for

them. So they designed a Church of their own – the Church of England.

The English Reformation was a result of the chain of events that eventually

altered England and Englishness forever. So much in history is a bastard

child of both long-standing, simmering emotion and the opportunistic

seizing of a moment. By its nature unexpected, it is also unpredictable,

and shaped as much by environment and chance as by its progenitors. The

Reformation was no different. It was going on through the ages and reigns.

I. History of the Church of England

1. Status of Church in England up to 1530

Until 1054 there was only one Christian Church - the Catholic Church. Its

leadership was centered in five great Patriarchates -- Jerusalem, Antioch,

Alexandria and Constantinople in the East and Rome in the West. After the

Roman Empire became Christian some bishops increasingly became involved in

political matters, and the bishops of Rome in particular began to claim

power over the whole Church. This led to a tragic division in the Church,

the "Great Schism" of 1054, when it split into the "Orthodox" East and the

"Roman Catholic" West.

Not directly involved in that split was the Church in England, which the

Bishops of Rome were determined to claim - especially after 1061, when a

rival Papacy in Lombardy claimed allegiance from the See of Canterbury. In

1066, the Duke of Normandy (William "the Conqueror"), with the support and

formal blessing of Pope Alexander II, invaded England. After seizing the

English Crown, William replaced all but one of the English bishops with

Norman bishops loyal to Rome. The CHURCH OF ENGLAND was to remain under

Papal jurisdiction for nearly 500 years, until the reign of King Henry

VIII.

2. Reformation of Church

England in the sixteenth century was a land of contrasts. Much less urban

than either Germany or the Netherlands, it nevertheless possessed a

thriving international trade centre in London and in Oxford and Cambridge,

two universities of outstanding reputation. The universities, in fact,

would play a significant role in the early campaigns against Luther. Henry

VIII turned to their finest theologians for arguments allowing him to enter

the lists against the growing threat of Lutheran heresy. This initiative

would earn him from a grateful Pope the coveted title, Defender of the

Faith.

The progress of the Reformation in England was closely bound up with

Henry's personal affairs. His increasing desperation to secure release from

his marriage to Catherine of Aragon forced him to contemplate radical steps

that went very much against the grain of his own instinctive theological

conservatism.

Henry VIII

It was the only Henry’s chance to go outside the boundaries of the

orthodoxy. Until this event, Henry had never questioned the Pope’s

authority or the validity of the Bible passage, it banned the marriage of a

brother- and sister-in-law. It was as early as the end of 1529 that Henry

first considered a complete dissociation from the Roman church.

Henry forced Wolsey to retire, as his entire foreign policy had collapsed

and he was now of no help to the King. In July of 1531, Henry sent

Catherine to Ampthill, never to see her again. He took back her royal

jewels and gave them to Anne. When Parliament reconvened in January, 1532,

Henry ordered that no further funds would be transferred to Rome, but

hinted to the Pope that the money would be restored if the annulment was

passed.

Meanwhile, most of the bishops had been persuaded that they would not lose

any power or income if the English Church were to split from Rome. In

March, the Convocation formally announced their readiness to separate: “May

it please your Highness to ordain in the present Parliament that the

obedience of your Highness and of the people be withdrawn from the See of

Rome.” On May 15, they printed a pledge to submit all its legislation to a

new committee, formed of laymen and clergymen, called the “Reformation

Parliament” and Convocation. This is where the Church of England was born.

On January 15, 1533, Henry and Anne, who was four months pregnant, were

married. However, the King still did not have his first marriage annulled.

He submitted his request for annulment to the new Convocation, led by

Thomas Cranmer. On May 23, Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine’s marriage

to be unlawful and void. Five days later, he pronounced Henry and Anne

legally wed. On May 31, 1533, Anne was coronated as Queen of England.

Although the King and new Queen rejoiced, the silence from the crowd at the

coronation spoke for much of England. Pope Clement excommunicated the King,

stating that the new marriage was null, and that any children would be

illegitimate. On September 7 Elizabeth was born.

Henry swiftly transformed the English Church by passing various Acts

through Parliament. In March of 1534, The Act of Succession declared the

marriage to Catherine invalid, and therefore Mary illegitimate. Elizabeth

was named heir to the throne unless Anne produced a son. Royal

commissioners rode through the countryside, stopping at every house,

castle, monastery, and convent to exact oaths of loyalty to the King from

every man and woman. Only a few refused; those that did were sent to the

Tower of London to be put to death.

On November 11, 1534, the Statute of Supremacy was passed by Parliament.

This Act announced that “… the king, our sovereign lord, his heirs and

successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the

only supreme head in earth of the Church of England, called Anglicans

Ecclesia”. And the King “…our said sovereign lord, his heirs and

successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority” to do

everything “most to the pleasure of Almighty God”. It was done to “…

increase virtue in Christ's religion, and for the conservation of the

peace, unity, and tranquility of this realm” (pp. 97-98, Milton Viorst, The

Great Documents of Western Civilization, NY, Barnes and Noble, 1965)

Innovative from the first, the new Church simplified the liturgy, ensured

it was in English rather than Latin and set it out in a new Book of Common

Prayer which was designed to give the people of England a commonly held

pattern of worship, a sense of oneness of Church and people, with the

Church sanctifying every side of national life, giving society a Godward

purpose and direction. It introduced on Day of Pentecost. It is written in

English, emphasizes the people's participation in the eucharist, and

requires the Bible to be read from cover to cover. Fast days are retained

(supposedly to help fishermen), but saints' days are not.

The political nation was, for the most part, obediently compliant rather

than enthusiastic. There is no evidence of any great hostility towards the

church and its institutions before the Reformation; on the contrary, both

the English episcopate and parish clergy seem to have been, by the

standards of other European lands, both well-trained and living without

scandal. Cardinal Wolsey, who fathered an illegitimate son, was very much

the exception. On the other hand, few were prepared to defy the King to

defend the threatened institutions of the old church. Many benefited from

the windfall of church property that followed the confiscation of monastic

lands.

Edward VI

During Edward's reign (Henry’s son), the Church of England became more

explicitly Protestant - Edward himself was fiercely so. The Book of Common

Prayer was introduced in 1549, aspects of Roman Catholic practices

(including statues and stained glass) were eradicated and the marriage of

clergy allowed. The imposition of the Prayer Book (which replaced Latin

services with English) led to rebellions in Cornwall and Devon.

“Images" ordered removed from all churches by the council of regents. This

also means no vestments, ashes, palms, holy water, or crucifixes. This

causes so much resentment that an order suppressing all preaching follows.

Mary I

Edward VI dies. People are tired of Protestant looting of churches. Mary

Tudor ("Bloody Mary"), a militant Roman Catholic, becomes queen, she

returned the English church to communion with Rome. She was Popular at

first, but soon marries the hated Philip II of Spain. Persecution of

Protestants begins; Mary appoints new bishops and fires all married

priests. During her reign, about 300 Protestants were burned, including 5

bishops, 100 priests, and 60 women. An attempt by Cardinal Pole (Mary's

archbishop of Canterbury) to restore monasticism fizzles when, among 1500

surviving monks, nuns, and friars, fewer than 100 are willing to return to

celibacy. All this ensures Roman Catholics will remain unpopular in

England.

Elizabeth I

Mary dies. Elizabeth I, (a Protestant), becomes queen. Despite many

problems (including frequent assassination plots from Roman Catholics), she

supports the enterprising middle class and England prospers. With her

accession an independent church was restored and steered along a middle

ground between Roman Catholicism and Calvinism.

Since 1564 the Era of Puritanism had began. The word "Puritan" appears for

the first time. It was biblically based on Calvinistic Protestantism - with

emphasis upon the "purification" of church and society of the remnants of

"corrupt" and "unscriptural" "papist" ritual and dogma. The characteristics

of their movement were the following: a disciplined, godly life, and the

energetic evangelical activities. They want:

. a skilled, educated preaching ministry, based on the Bible

. as few ceremonies in church as Biblically possible (no surplice, no

signing of the cross)

. abolition of the traditional role of bishop, and replacement of the

episcopate by a presbyterian system

. one legal government church, controlled by Puritans.

By the 1660s Puritanism was firmly established amongst the gentry and the

emerging middle classes of southern and eastern England, and during the

Civil Wars the Puritan "Roundheads" fought for the parliamentary cause and

formed the backbone of Cromwell's forces during the Commonwealth period.

After 1646, however, the Puritan emphasis upon individualism and the

individual conscience made it impossible for the movement to form a

national Presbyterian church, and by 1662, when the Anglican church was re-

established, Puritanism had become a loose confederation of various

Dissenting sects. The growing pressure for religious toleration within

Britain itself was to a considerable degree a legacy of Puritanism, and its

emphasis on self-discipline, individualism, responsibility, work, and

asceticism was also an important influence upon the values and attitudes of

the emerging middle classes.

Thirty-Nine Articles (1571) drafted as a doctrinal statement by a

convocation of the Church of England. The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion,

along with the historic Creeds, are the doctrinal standard for Anglicanism.

They are printed in the back of most editions of the Prayer Book and tell

us not only about the main postulates (e.g. Of faith in the Holy Trinity,

Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very man; Of Original or Birth

Sin; Of Free Will etc.), but also about Sin after Baptism, Of the Church,

Of the Authority of the Church, Of the authority of General Councils, Of

speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth

etc.

Charles II

With accession of Charles II in 1660 the Restoration of the monarchy began.

Everyone is tired of Puritan rule. Puritan laws and censorship are

repealed; the theaters re-open. The "Declaration of Breda" results in

tolerance for Puritan views within the Anglican fold. The conflict with

Puritanism leaves distrust for religious individualism and emotionalism

("enthusiasm") among Anglicans. This will continue through the "Great

Awakening" (1738-1784: Christian revival in England and America). This

coincides with the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, during which many

educated people cease to consider themselves Christians.

Act of Toleration (1689), partially restores civil rights to Roman

Catholics and Dissenters. The events since the Reformation have finally

convinced most Anglicans of the virtues of tolerance and mutual

forbearance.

Victorian Era

The trend during this period will be rediscovery of liturgy and church

history - High church - and spreading Christianity – Low сhurch.

The Evangelical branch of the Anglican Church coincided very nearly with

the "Low Church" party. Evangelical, a term literally meaning "of or

pertaining to the Gospel," designated the school of theology adhered to by

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