'Will there be a Church of England after 2034? A short history 1534 – 2034, from the Act of Supremacy to today'.
Lecture 3: ‘The Long century 1689 – 1829’
From Parliament’s acclamation of William III and Mary II as monarchs following the exile of the Catholic King James VII and II (1689) until the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 the Church of England’s mission spread globally, paving the way for the establishment of the Anglican Communion. The rise of Dissent and parallel history of Methodism inform the challenges of social reform and of industrialisation in a profoundly rural country.
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.