'Will there be a Church of England after 2034? A short history 1534 – 2034, from the Act of Supremacy to today'.
Lecture 1: ‘‘A done deal’: Henry VIII and the Break with Rome’
The first lecture examines the Henrician revolution in church governance in its wider European context with increased demands for ecclesiastical autonomy and the rise of the Nation State. Henry’s first marriage had linked the Tudors with the Catholic Kings of Spain. The funeral of his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, who outlived him, was the first Protestant funeral service to be held in English. The Great Bible (1540) and the Prayer Books of 1549 and 1552 all contribute to English literacy as a Latin-based culture is transformed.
The Act of Supremacy by which Henry VIII’s Parliament claimed rights over the English church cut links with the Pope in Rome was passed on 3 November 1534. These four lectures look at the broad history from the gradual establishment of the Church of England to the present and ask, ‘Will there be a Church of England in ten years’ time?’
Canon Nicholas Cranfield has been vicar of Blackheath All Saints’ in Southeast London for twenty five years. Before moving to the Diocese of Southwark he was Dean of Chapel and a Fellow of Selwyn College Cambridge where he taught history as an Associate Lecturer in the University. He was ordained in 1986 and after his curacy became Director of the Berkshire Christian Training Scheme working with the Bishop of Oxford’s adult education team.
He has been a regular arts correspondent for the Church Times for more than thirty years and writes widely on Art and Sacred Space. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.