1527–1536

Henry VIII's break with Rome and the Act of Supremacy

Henry VIII sought an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon from Pope Clement VII. The pope, dependent on Emperor Charles V, did not grant it. Henry then appointed Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury and secretly married Anne Boleyn.

Acts of Parliament in 1534 declared the king "the only supreme head on earth" of the Church of England. They declared the marriage to Catherine void. Dissenters were made guilty of treason, including the former chancellor Thomas More. More was executed in 1535.

This was a schism without doctrinal reform. Henry had earlier written against Luther and received from the pope the title "Defender of the Faith". He had no intention of changing Catholic doctrine. But he soon began dissolving the English monasteries and confiscating their property.