At the start of the reign of Henry VIII (1510), the church in England, known as Ecclesia Anglicana, formed part of the western communion of churches with the bishop of Rome ("Pope") at its head .
When the Protestant Reformation first began from 1517 with Martin Luther and others, the King of England, Henry VIII opposed their teachings and was granted the title "Defender of the Faith" by Pope Leo X in 1521. At the same time, many Christians and scholars in England supported the teachings of the Reformation. One centre for such interest was the University of Cambridge and the White Horse Inn where discussions were held. Around this time, William Tyndale became a Protestant Christian and began a project to translate and print the New Testament into English. The very first edition of Tyndale's New Testament came out in 1525. This eventually led to his capture and martyrdom in what is now Belgium in the year 1536.
Meanwhile, King Henry VIII was unable to have a son and heir with his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the Pope refused him an annulment. This led to Henry VIII taking the unprecedented step of declaring himself to be the supreme head of the Church of England and breaking away from the rest of the western Catholic church by 1536. Those who disagreed with this move, such as Thomas More, found themselves in danger of prosecution and potentially death (for treason). The Roman Catholic church in England continued as an illegal underground movement. Under Henry VIII, the church of England hardly changed, apart from the appointment of an Archbishop of Canterbury favourable to the Reformation and the introduction of an English translation of the Bible, placed in all the churches.
Henry VIII was succeeded in 1547 by his underage son, Edward VI. During his short reign, and supported by figures such as Edward Seymour, the Church of England adopted the teachings and practices of the Protestant Reformation. For example, a new form of service (the Book of Common Prayer) was introduced that was in English and which reflected the theology of the Reformation.
When Edward VI died in 1553, he was succeeded by his half-sister, Mary, who returned the country to the Roman Catholic faith, and persecuted Protestants. Major Protestant leaders were tried and executed, such as Latimer and Cranmer.
When "Bloody Mary" died in 1558, her half-sister, Elizabeth, came to the throne. Elizabeth I's resolution of the church issues, known as the "Elizabethan Settlement", involved a middle-of-the-road compromise where there was scope for different views, but outward conformity was imposed. The church retained many of the outward ceremonies from the pre-Reformation past.
Within a single Church of England, there were different currents and movements. Figures such as Archbishop Hooker represented the more ceremonial approach, while in 1570 at Cambridge, Professor Cartwright advocated "Presbyterianism" for the Church of England. Those who, like Cartwright, advocated for the Church of England to become more like the Reformed churches in Scotland and Switzerland became known as "Puritans". Others went even further, and wanted to break away from the state church entirely, setting up independent congregations. They were known as "Independents" or "Separatists". The first independent congregation may have started at Norwich in 1581. Many "Independents" took refuge in the Netherlands, where there was a measure of religious toleration. Some of these became the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed to America. In 1609, another group of independents followed the practice of the Mennonite churches of believers' baptism - they became known as "Baptists".
From 1603, England was ruled by James I of the royal house of Stuart, which originated in Scotland. Since the church in Scotland was "reformed" (following the pattern of the churches in places like Geneva and Zurich), many hoped that a Scottish king would support similar things in England, and they presented him a petition, signed by a thousand signatories. James I, however, had different views. "No bishop, no king," he said. Over the coming decades under James I and his son, Charles I, there was significant tension between the Stuart kings and their puritan and separatist subjects. The parliament became a power base for those who opposed the king, and eventually there was a series of civil wars 1642-1651 between king and parliament. As a result the king was tried and executed in 1649.
In the place of a monarchy, for about 11 years, there was a republic in Britain known as the "Commonwealth". The most powerful person in the country during this time was Oliver Cromwell, who assumed the title "Lord Protector". The Commonwealth was a time of wide-ranging religious pluralism with many different movements springing up and growing and vying for support. Dissenters such as Presbyterians, Congregationalist and Baptists ministered at Church of England churches (e.g. Henry Newcombe at Manchester Collegiate church).
When the monarchy was restored with Charles II in 1660, assurances were given about freedom of religion. However, these were not honoured. In 1662, two thousand ministers were ejected from their positions for not conforming with the form of service and rules set out in the Book of Common Prayer. Over the next 30 years or so, "dissenters" were hounded, imprisoned and in many cases executed for treason. One famous dissenter was John Bunyan, who spent 12 years in prison for the crime of preaching without the necessary authorisation.
Charles II's son, James II, a professing Roman Catholic, was king for a brief period 1685-1688. He was removed from power by the Glorious Revolution of William of Orange and his wife and queen, Mary Stuart. They declared religious toleration in 1689, allowing Protestant dissenters to practise their faith freely, although some restrictions remained and toleration was not extended to Roman Catholics or non-Trinitarians.
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