Which monarch broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England?

Which monarch broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England?

• A. Queen Elizabeth I
• B. King Henry VIII
• C. Erasmus
• D. Martin Luther

Answer: (D)

Henry VIII is the monarch who broke with Rome and established the Church of England. He wanted an annulment from Catherine of Aragon, but when the pope refused, Henry asserted that he, not the pope, held authority over the English church. He passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, naming the king the Supreme Head of the Church of England, which created a national church under the crown and severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church. This move was a political and religious shift, not just a reform movement. Erasmus and Luther were key reformers who challenged Catholic practices, but they were not English monarchs, and Elizabeth I later shaped the Anglican Church’s identity, not initiate the break.

Henry VIII is the monarch who broke with Rome and established the Church of England. He wanted an annulment from Catherine of Aragon, but when the pope refused, Henry asserted that he, not the pope, held authority over the English church. He passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, naming the king the Supreme Head of the Church of England, which created a national church under the crown and severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church. This move was a political and religious shift, not just a reform movement. Erasmus and Luther were key reformers who challenged Catholic practices, but they were not English monarchs, and Elizabeth I later shaped the Anglican Church’s identity, not initiate the break.