History of the Church of England

Common card · No. 441682

The Church of England claims that its history can be traced back to 597. Specifically, to the Gregorian mission led by Augustine of Canterbury at the behest of Pope Gregory I. This mission instigated the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons, and led to Augustine being created the first Archbishop of Canterbury by Gregory. Following from the Gregorian mission, England was under the aegis of Chalcedonian Christianity throughout the Mediaeval Period. During the Great Schism of 1054, England retained its identity within the Catholic Church under the jurisdiction of the Pope. However, the monarchs of England conflicted with the church in England over the amassing of legal privileges and property. Notably, the conflict between Saint Thomas Becket and Henry II over the rights of the church. These conflicts came to a crescendo during the Henrician Reformation, wherein papal authority was abolished in England so that Henry VIII could get an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. Henry VIII had appointed...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Ealdgyth, CC BY-SA 3.0