Henry VIII's break with Rome from "summary" of The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Henry VIII's break with Rome was a pivotal event in English history, with far-reaching consequences for the country's religious, political, and social landscape. The break was not a sudden decision by the king but rather the culmination of a series of events and tensions that had been building for some time. One of the key factors leading to the break was Henry's desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The king's marriage to Catherine had produced only one surviving child, a daughter named Mary, and Henry was desperate for a male heir to secure the future of the Tudor dynasty. When the Pope refused to annul the marriage, citing the sanctity of marriage and the authority of the Church, Henry decided to take matters into his own hands. In 1534, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which declared Henry to be the "Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England." This marked th...
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