True or False: Henry VIII Created Anglicanism? An Episcopal Priest Explains - Apologetics for the Masses #559

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Topic

Part 2 of my look at the Episcopal church/Anglicanism - Did Henry VIII start the Anglican church?

General Comments

Reminder: Gentlemen, if you live in or around the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area, I'll be speaking on Saturday, October 10th, at the Be A Catholic Man Conference in Wilkes-Barre. Other speakers include: Bishop Joseph Coffey, Bishop Joseph Bambera, and Brian Holdsworth. I would love to see you there! For more information, or to register: https://beacatholicman.com/conference

Introduction

Continuing in this issue with my comments on the videos by Rev. Madeleine Hill (a.k.a. Mother Maddie) - the "Priest in Charge" at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, PA. If you would like to watch either of the videos I'm commenting on (from last week or this week), you can view them on the Church of the Good Shepherd's Facebook page: "Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont PA". Scroll down to the August 18th post for the video titled: What is the Episcopal Church? (the subject of the last newsletter) and then to the August 21st post for the video that is this week's subject of analysis: True or False: Henry VIII created Anglicanism?

What I'm going to do again this week is to first give you the transcripts of both of the videos, in their entirety (they're pretty short), and then repeat the Henry VIII video transcript, but with my comments interspersed. Also in this newsletter, I'll be adding in some material about Anglicanism from the Church of the Good Shepherd's website, and give my comments on that material, as well.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

Video #1
Rev. Madeleine Hill - Episcopal Priest
What is the Episcopal Church?

The Episcopal Church is the American incarnation of the world-wide Anglican Communion. Anglicanism is the English expression of the Catholic Faith.

Catholic just means “universal”. So, we are the English expression of the universal faith. We developed, interestingly, in England, alongside the Celts, who gave us a deep appreciation for mystery. We believe that God is at work in the world through His Sacraments, through His bride, the church, and through His gathered people.

Now, the English expression of the Catholic Faith is both Catholic and Reformed...both Catholic and Protestant.

In one of my favorite collects [one of the short prayers of the Mass], for the Feast of Richard Hooker, we pray, and therefore we believe, that "the middle way is not a compromise for the sake of peace, but comprehension for the sake of truth." That when we comprehend both Catholic and Protestant ideals, when we comprehend both rich and poor, both black and white, both liberal and conservative, that we come closer to the truth. That is the very heart of Anglicanism. Coming to know God in the Sacraments, and in one another. Refusing to assert that we have a monopoly on the truth. Instead, we invite you to come and use your brain, to come and ask questions, and to come and enjoy the mystery and the awe which is Christ at work in His church.

But the best way to understand Anglicanism, is to come and see. So I would love to see you here at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

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Video #2
Rev. Madeleine Hill - Episcopal Priest |
True or False: Henry VIII created Anglicanism? It’s actually...false.

Although we don’t know exactly how or when Christianity arrived in the British Isles, we do know that in the 6th century, when Augustine of Canterbury was sent to ‘evangelize the heathen’ on the British Isles, he arrived to find that there were already Christians present. And not just Christians, but bishops, priests, and deacons. The church was alive on those British Isles. And over the next several hundred years, that particular expression of Christianity develops uniquely with the influence of saints like Hilda of Whitby, and the Venerable Bede and Thomas a’Becket.

And in that long season, there are chapters in which the church in England accepts the authority of the Pope and there are seasons in which we reject the authority of the Pope. The church goes into and out of the authority of the Pope in Rome. And, so, when Henry VIII rejects the Pope, and makes himself the head of the church, he’s not exactly doing anything novel. Rather, he’s participating in the long ecclesial discussions which have preceded him.

But, if we want to give thanks to a British monarch for their impact on Anglicanism, it is Elizabeth I to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for her clear articulation of Anglicanism as the Middle Way, which is both Catholic and Protestant.  Now, one of the most beautiful things about Anglicanism, is that ours is a living tradition about which we continue to learn and which continues to be made better by the saints which bring it to life, which includes you.

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Video #2
Rev. Madeleine Hill - Episcopal Priest |
True or False: Henry VIII created Anglicanism? It’s actually...false.

My Comments
No, it's actually...true.

Mother Maddie
Although we don’t know exactly how or when Christianity arrived in the British Isles, we do know that in the 6th century, when Augustine of Canterbury was sent to ‘evangelize the heathen’ on the British Isles, he arrived to find that there were already Christians present. And not just Christians, but bishops, priests, and deacons. The church was alive on those British Isles. And over the next several hundred years, that particular expression of Christianity develops uniquely with the influence of saints like Hilda of Whitby, and the Venerable Bede and Thomas a’Becket.

My Comments
She is correct, in that we don't know exactly how or when Christianity arrived in the British Isles, but we do know approximately when and how Christianity arrived in the British Isles. There are some Anglican legends that Christianity was brought to England in the 1st century A.D. by either Joseph of Arimathea, or by Coptic Christians who sailed there from Egypt. There is, though, no evidence to support either of those legends. There is, however, a good bit of evidence that points to Christianity arriving in Britain in the 1st century A.D., not long after one very significant event.

In 43 A.D., just 10 years after the founding of the Church, Rome launched an invasion of Britain. This invasion established the 1st permanent presence of the Roman Empire on the island. A presence that lasted into the middle of the 5th century - approximately 400 years. And guess who was part of the invasion and the occupying force that came after? Christians. They may have been soldiers or they may have been slaves...or both. But we know Christians were there from very early on because archaeologists have found Christian inscriptions on Roman pottery, in England, from those early centuries of Christianity.

We also know this because Origen and Tertullian, both North Africans, mention the Church in Britain in their writings in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. And that would be the Church in Britain that was connected to the rest of the Church across North Africa and Europe - the Catholic Church. More evidence is the fact that bishops from Britain - the bishops of London, York, and either Lincoln or Colchester - as well as a priest and a deacon, attended the Council of Arles in the year 314. The Council of Arles was a council of...Catholic bishops. These were not bishops of some ancient Anglican church or Church of England that was independent of Rome, they were Catholic bishops. English bishops also attended the Council of Rimini - in Italy - in the year 359. Again, a council of Catholic bishops.

Furthermore, the 1st British martyr, St. Alban - a Catholic - died in 304 A.D. St. Ninian, a bishop personally ordained by the Pope, died around 432 A.D. St. David, the patron saint of Wales, was a Catholic bishop who died around 590 A.D. The three saints Mother Maddie mentions - Hilda of Whitby, the Venerable Bede, and Thomas a’Becket - all Catholic. The Catholic Church, not the Anglican church or the Church of England, is the historical church of record in Britain.

With her comment about St. Augustine of Canterbury being sent to evangelize "the heathen," she is implying that "Rome" apparently knew nothing at all about a church in Britain as late as the 6th century. Which means, of course, that early Christianity in Britain was not Catholic Christianity, right? Nothing could be further than the truth, as I've already stated. The thing is, after the withdrawal of the predominantly Christian Roman troops in the middle of the 5th century and the total collapse of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century, contact between the Church in Britain and the Church in Rome probably did indeed wane and probably became more difficult and way less frequent. Not to mention the fact that undoubtedly many Roman Christians (i.e., Catholics) probably left Britain along with the Roman legions, since they no longer had the protection of those legions from the attacks of pagan tribes. Which undoubtedly contributed to the fact that much of Christianized Britain, except for a few areas, became re-paganized over the next hundred years or so.

So what happened? In the late 6th century, the Pope - Pope Gregory I - sent St. Augustine of Canterbury, along with 40 other monks, to convert a particular paganized kingdom - the Kingdom of Kent - along with its king - King Aethelbert. It is speculated that the Kingdom of Kent was chosen because it was an influential kingdom in Britain at the time, but also because the king had married a Christian, even though he was a pagan. So this mission was indeed to convert pagans, but it was also, essentially, to re-establish, or re-energize, the Church in Britain. It was not a mission that the Pope supposedly thought was going to introduce the Catholic Church...introduce Christianity...to Britain for the 1st time, as Mother Maddie seems to be implying.

So, no, Mother Maddie, there was not some independent and "unique" British "expression" of Christianity that began in the 1st century of Christianity and developed over the next several hundred years into the Anglican church. All the saints of the early British aisles, all the bishops, all the priests and deacons - were Catholic. St. Augustine of Canterbury was not "surprised" to find Christians when he arrived in Britain. He knew they were already there, even though the Church in Britain was much smaller than it was a hundred years earlier before the Roman legions left.

Mother Maddie
And in that long season, there are chapters in which the church in England accepts the authority of the Pope and there are seasons in which we reject the authority of the Pope. The church goes into and out of the authority of the Pope in Rome. And, so, when Henry VIII rejects the Pope, and makes himself the head of the church, he’s not exactly doing anything novel. Rather, he’s participating in the long ecclesial discussions which have preceded him.

My Comments
Well, Mother Maddie appears to be purposely vague here. "...there are chapters in which the church in England accepts the authority of the Pope and there are seasons in which we reject the authority of the Pope."  Well, not quite right. There were definitely "chapters" and "seasons" when there were power struggles between the king in Britain and the Pope. But these power struggles were over such issues as legal jurisdiction, the appointment of bishops, taxation of the Church, the rights of clergy, and such - never did any of these kings completely separate the Catholic Church in England from the Catholic Church in Rome and declare themselves to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England, as did Henry VIII. Never did the clergy disavow the Pope and claim to be a part of some separate church. There were similar power struggles between the Pope and the kings of other nations throughout Europe over the centuries. That doesn't mean there were separate and unique churches in each of those countries. So, no, there is no "chapter," that I am aware of, where the Catholic Church in England outright rejected the authority of the Pope and declared itself to be altogether a separate entity from the Catholic Church in Rome with the king as the head of the church. That did not happen regardless of how much Mother Maddie would like to believe it happened.

Mother Maddie
But, if we want to give thanks to a British monarch for their impact on Anglicanism, it is Elizabeth I to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for her clear articulation of Anglicanism as the Middle Way, which is both Catholic and Protestant.  Now, one of the most beautiful things about Anglicanism, is that ours is a living tradition about which we continue to learn and which continues to be made better by the saints which bring it to life, which includes you.

My Comments
Sorry, but while Elizabeth I was indeed an important personage in the development of the Anglican church - although she would probably have most of today's Anglican bishops drawn and quartered for heresy - the fact of the matter is, that there was no such thing as Anglicanism or the Church of England or any similar institution that was a separate and unique "expression" of the Catholic faith, with the British monarch as its "Supreme Head," until Henry VIII wanted an annulment from his first wife and the Pope refused to grant it. That is when Anglicanism was born. To say otherwise is to deny reality. The only "Middle Way" here is the middle way between comforting myth and historical delusion.

And I love her final sentence about how Anglicanism "is a living tradition about which we continue to learn and which continues to be made better by the saints which bring it to life, which includes you."   In other words, we are always improving on the teachings of Jesus that He left to our church through His Apostles by changing them every so often to stay in tune with the times. I mean, Jesus didn't know everything, right? So sometimes we just need to tweak a teaching here and there.

Summary
Henry VIII started Anglicanism. Period. Anglicans/Episcopalians want to change, or should I say, deny, the historical record because, ya know, it just doesn't look so good that your "church" was started because once upon a time, in a land beyond the great channel, there lived a king who wanted to rend asunder his marriage, but the head of his church said, "No, no, ye cannot do so." So, what did this king do when rebuked? Well, he did a very Protestant thing - he went and started his own church. And, oh yeah, he stole all the churches, monasteries, lands, etc. from the church he used to be in. And, oh yeah, he ended up having 6 different wives, two of whom he divorced and two of whom he had beheaded (one died on her own). So, if you're in a church whose founder was an adulterer, a thief, and a murderer, how can you claim any kind of legitimacy for the existence of your church? What choice do you have, then, except to muddy the waters by creating a fairy tale about when your church was started and who started it? I mean, you can't really blame them, can you? After all, what choice do they have? Would you have them go back to that original church they broke from? The one that doesn't change the teachings handed down from its Founder over the centuries - that founder being Jesus Christ Himself? Would you have them submit to the successor of St. Peter, instead of the successor of Henry VIII? Really?! How cruel is that?!

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From the website of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, PA
"We are an Episcopal Parish in the progressive Anglo-Catholic tradition and are a part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania....As Episcopalians, we strive for a generous orthodoxy, one that respects the wisdom of the Church, Christ’s living Body on earth, and that is also open to the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, which constantly reveals new things to us.

My Comments
"...we strive for a generous orthodoxy...," what the heck does that even mean? It's double talk. What they ought to say is, "We strive for flexible orthodoxy." That would make more sense...sorta. We respect the "wisdom of the Church," until we no longer consider it wisdom. We're progressive, yet orthodox. We honor tradition, yet toss tradition out whenever the Holy Spirit "reveals" new things to us, which He is "constantly" doing. But, of course, our faith is still catholic...still universal.

Parish Website
About Anglo-Catholicism
People might wonder how a church can be Anglican and Catholic at the same time...At the beginning of the nineteenth century, some members of the Church of England felt that the church suffered from a lack of vitality and from growing competition from other religious traditions...A group of concerned clergy at Oriel College, Oxford University  [the Oxford Movement], raised an alarm about what they saw as the deteriorating condition of the church...They argued that the Church of England was part of the catholic church equal to the Orthodox Church of Russia and the Roman Church in Italy, for instance. Each nation had its own branch of that universal church...Many, especially Edward Pusey, even disavowed the Protestant name associated with the Reformation, especially since that had been brought on by Henry VIII’s marital problems.

My Comments
Oh, so their church is Anglican and Catholic at the same time? I thought it was Protestant and Catholic at the same time? Which is it? Actually, it's both, because to be Anglican is to be Protestant. And did you note the mention of Henry VIII's "marital problems"? "Marital problems"? He had six wives! Killed two of them! Divorced two more! "Marital problems"? Really?! And, did you notice, that the Anglican church that Mother Maddie claims is an ancient "expression" of the universal Catholic faith, well, apparently...from what her parish's website says...these "concerned clergy" didn't start making that argument until the 1800's - some 300 years after Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church! Busted that timeline.

Parish Website
This first generation of reformers primarily concentrated on ecclesiology. The next group of reformers focused more on the outward expression of the Catholic nature of the Church of England. They wanted to restore the liturgy, vestments, ritual, and practices associated with the English Catholicism before Protestantism had abolished them. They sought to return to the use of rich vestments appropriate for the celebration of what they now called the Mass. They embellished the service with the use of incense, bells, holy water, genuflections, and the elevation of the host. They called for oral confession to a priest for absolution...Many Anglican churches in the United States began adopting many of these customs...The church even changed its name from the Protestant Episcopal Church to what it is now, The Episcopal Church.

My Comments
The "reformers" in the Church of England in the 1800's wanted to bring back it's "Catholic" nature. They wanted to restore many of the things associated with English "Catholicism" - not Anglicanism - before Protestantism had abolished them. And when was it that Protestantism had abolished them? When Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church and started a new Protestant church in the 1530's! Too bad these reformers didn't want to bring back the doctrines they jettisoned, the books of the Bible they rejected, and the authority of the See of Peter that they spurned. The Episcopal church in the U.S. was even called the Protestant Episcopal church until the 1960's!

Summary
What church did Henry VIII belong to when he was married to his 1st wife? The Catholic Church. What church did all the bishops, priests, and deacons in England belong to when Henry VIII was married to his 1st wife? The Catholic Church. What church did Henry VIII belong to after he left the Catholic Church? The Church of England - the Anglican church. What church did most of the bishops, priests, and deacons in England belong to after Henry VIII left the Catholic Church? The Church of England - the Anglican church. There was no Church of England...no Anglican church...no English "expression" of the Catholic faith...until Henry VIII left the Catholic Church and started his own church. There were no Anglican bishops, priests, or deacons before Henry VIII split from Rome. None! All of this faux history put out there by Mother Maddie is nothing more than a nice sounding myth created by a "church" that is desperately searching for some sort of legitimate reason for why it even exists! Unfortunately, for Anglicanism, it seeks a legitimacy that it will never have until such time as it finds its way home

As Catholics, we need to stress to Anglicans and Episcopalians - high church, low church, progressive, orthodox, or however they may describe themselves - that they are in a church that would not exist were it not for the fact that Henry VIII's 1st wife did not have a male child, so Henry wanted to end the marriage and the Pope wouldn't agree to it. And we need to stress that to Methodists, as well - and all other Protestant branches that broke off from the Anglicans and Episcopalians and Methodists. The founder of their faith traditions is a man who had six wives, beheaded two, and divorced two. Adulterer, thief, and murderer. Period.

Closing Comments

Next issue: Not absolutely sure, yet, but I'll probably feature a dialogue I'm having with a guy who has a YouTube page titled, Answers from Scripture. The conversation is primarily about "call no man your father," from Matthew 23:9. I hope and pray all of you have a great week! Please keep the Bible Christian Society in your prayers!

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