Isn it true that the Anglican Church got started only because Henry VIII wanted a divorce?
A. This claim is a major distortion of history. But, because this distortion has benefited certain religious bodies, they have tried to perpetuate the distortion. The reality is that England had long chaffed under the domination of the Roman pontiff and his usurpation of ecclesiastical and political authority. Henry sought an annulment, or declaration that no marriage existed, because the marriage into which he was forced, as a youth, violated church law. Henry also believed that his marriage to Catherine, the wife of his dead brother, violated Biblical teachings. Pope Julius, Pope Clement VII’s predecessor, had authorized the marriage in violation of Roman Catholic canon law. Henry expected Pope Clement to grant the annulment, given that this was the advice of many Vatican advisors and the religious scholars of the great European universities to whom Clement sent Henry’s petition for review. Clement, no doubt, would indeed have granted the annulment, for Henry’s case was strong. Howev
