Origin of ANGLICANISM and main representatives

The Luther's Reformation it was one of the events that most influenced the changes in world religions. As a consequence of hera new branch of Catholicism was urged known as Protestantism. There are several Protestant religions, but among them we must highlight one of the first, the so-called Anglicanism so present in the British land. To get to know it in depth, in this lesson from a Teacher we are going to talk about the Origin of Anglicanism and main representatives.

The Anglicanism It is a Christian religious doctrine derived from the traditional branch of Catholicism. It emerged in the United Kingdom in the 16th century as a result of the influence of the Luther's Reformation on English soil.

The founder of the religion was the King of England, Henry VIII. who, taking advantage of the Reformation, and as a consequence of his constant battles against the Church to see who had more power, decided to separate from Catholicism and create his own religion.

Currently, this branch of Protestant Christianity is called

Branches of Anglicanism

As for its branches, we can speak of three different versions of Anglicanism:

• The Conservatives: they are the most similar to Catholics
• The Evangelicals: more focused on Calvinism and the Reformation
• liberals: they are the most modern with great changes today.

The origin of Anglicanism can be found in the sixteenth century, when numerous events took place that led the English to decide to separate from the traditional Church. At this time, the Church tried to intervene and have influence in all the great kingdoms of Europe, such as the English.

The King of England at the time, Henry VIII, faced the Pope on numerous occasions for disagreeing with him. Enrique needed a man to be able to have offspring, but no child had survived from his marriage. Enrique blamed his wife for not being able to have children and asked the Pope for a divorce so he could marry another woman, but from the Vatican they denied the request, since a separation in a great European royal house was a precedent dangerous.

The problem was not only because of the son, but Henry was in love with Anne Boleyn and it is said that she only wanted to have sex if the king married her. At that time, and seeing how Luther's movements in northern Europe were beginning to emerge, Henry VIII he created the so-called Act of Supremacy in 1534, creating his own religion, of which he would be the leader, and ending his relationship with the Pope. After this, he gave himself permission to divorce and later marry Anne Boleyn.

All this led Henry VIII to carry out the Act of Supremacy in 1534, turning the monarch into the leader of the Church of England, ending the authority of the Pope, validating his own divorce and marrying Anne Boleyn.

We must keep in mind that, although it shares many similarities, the similarities between Anglicanism and the theories of Luther are not many, so we are not sure to what extent the Reformation influenced Luther's plan and action. Enrique.

Behind this, Anglicanism remained the religion of the English, expanding in the colonies of the British, and occupying an important part of this society for centuries, even to the present day.

To continue with this lesson and understand Anglicanism we must talk about its main features, to understand the importance of this branch. We will see that it is like a very interesting intermediate point between Catholicism and Lutheranism.

The characteristics of Anglicanism are the following:

• There is no celibacy so Anglican ministers can marry and have children.
• In some branches of Anglicanism women can be priests.
• The foundations of Anglicanism are the 39 articles and the book of common prayer. The Bible is another base, but it is considered that it can be misunderstood.
• The baptism and eucharist they are the only valid sacraments. Although on certain occasions and places other sacraments are used due to their historical importance within religion.
• To save yourself and go to heaven you can only have faith, so you must believe in God and purge your sins. The sacraments are not thought to bring you closer to God or anything like that.
• The leader of the religion is the Archbishop of Canterbury, so the Pope has no power.
• No tribute is paid to the Saints nor to any other type of figure other than God and Jesus. On the other hand, it is considered that any baptized person becomes considered a saint.

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To finish this lesson on the origin of Anglicanism and main representatives, we must talk about the main leaders or important people of this religion.

For all this, the main representatives of Anglicanism are the following:

• Henry VIII: Founder of the religion and the main responsible for the existence of Anglicanism. His break with the Catholic Church for personal reasons is what created the religion.
• Thomas Cromwell: Minister and secretary to Henry VIII, he was the king's greatest supporter on his way to Anglicanism. He was one of the most important men in the Reformation by changing numerous English laws so that it could work.
• Thomas Cranmer: Priest and Archbishop of Canterbury during the government of Enrique VIII. He was one of the greatest collaborators in achieving the king's divorce, and a staunch defender of royal supremacy over the Church.
• Elizabeth I: During the government of her the queen broke relations with the Church and named Anglicanism the official religion of England, causing conflicts with the European Catholic nations.

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