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Henry VIII was at one time a very celebrated Catholic, so much so that he was awarded the title "Defender of the Faith" by the pope for a tract he had done with support from St. Thomas More in defense of the Sacraments against the Protestants. However, Henry had a falling out with the Church, largely due to his desire to secure an annulment that he might remarry, for his current wife had not produced an heir. When the pope refused and St. Thomas More would not aid him, Henry began to take steps to gain political control over the Church. In the end, a complete break was enacted and Henry is ultimately credited with establishing the Church of England, or Anglicanism. Rejecting papal authority, the crown became the supreme temporal authority in religious matters. Along with this came the doctrinal and disciplinary changes that were influenced by Protestantism on the main continent.

He was not a protestant, but he was anti-papal, which means he was against the supremacy of Rome. He called himself a good Catholic on several accounts, and he burned Protestants as heretics. However, he did not believe that the Pope was all powerful in terms of religion, and so he separated from the Church and made himself Supreme Head of the Church of England

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14y ago

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