Today we are interviewing our great King’s Chief advisor, Thomas, on the sudden separation of the Roman Catholic Church and England. Many readers have written in questions on this issue and today we hope, we can get some answers for you.
Welcome to the offices for the Olden Times. Here we have a few questions for you sent in specifically from our literate readers about the current situation
Thomas: Thank you for inviting me. Start as you will.
Okay, here we go then. This question is from Mary Parkinson of Hillsboro and she asks; Dear Sir Thomas, I was wondering if you could outline and clarify the basic terms of the “Act of Supremacy” for me?
Thomas: Certainly, It’s all very quite simple. The Act of Supremacy basically states that our great king should have the honour of being head of the Church of England. It also states that the head of the Church will have the complete authority of the Churches estates, possessions, practises and people in leading positions. It says that the head of the Church will also have the power to repress, record, correct, amend and punish anything in the Church that he deems necessary for the spiritual benefit of the people of England.
That’s sounds fair. Our next question is from Hugo Duffle of York who asks; why is the split of the Church from the Roman Empire necessary?
Our great King has found many faults with the Roman Catholic Church. He believes that the head of the Church should be the reigning monarch and wealthy pilgrims should not offer money to the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, but rather to the Church of England. He thinks that as a nation we should not have to rely on Rome for religion and instead be self sufficient in our religion. Henry VIII is also of the opinion that the bible being forbidden to translate into English is a bad thing. The people of England speak English so why should it not be written in English? His last complaint on the Roman Catholic Church, is that it fails to grant his annulment from the illegitimate marriage of Katherine of Aragon and himself.
Frederick Manson from Walls asks; What was the key event that sparked King Henry to separate the Church from Rome?
The main event that sparked Henry to separate the Churches was when the Pope refused to allow the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Henry believed this marriage to be cursed and illegitamat afetr refering to the passage in the bible,
‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, they will die childless. He has done a ritually unclean thing and has disgraced his brother.’
Henry was forced to marry Catherine of Aragon at a cery early age and denies havign the choice. After reading this passage he found out that if the marriage continued he would be cursed and unable to produce any heirs to the throne. This is the reason Henry wanted an annulment so badly. And when the Pope said he wouldnt give his consent, Henry decided to make his own brach of the Church,so that for his own countries sake and future, he could produce an heir.
Of course. The final question is from Marina Symonds or Manchester who asks; What changes will we expect to see now that we are part of the Church of England?
There will be no major changes for you, expect that for spiritual matters, we will seek guidance from King Henry VIII instead of the Pope in Rome. Instead of donating riches to shrines, riches will be donated to the Crown for the purpose of maintaining the Church of England.
Thats all the questions we have for you at this current time, thankyou so much for joining us today Sir Thomas. May good fortune be yours.