Supreme Governor of the Church of England

The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title held by the British Monarchs that signifies their titular leadership over the Church of England.

Related Topics:
British Monarch - Church of England

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The monarch's authority and prerogative of this office is of little practical relevance today, and is mostly observed in a symbolic capacity. The Supreme Governor's prerogative to appoint high-ranking members of the church remains in the hands of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who makes the appointments based on church leaders' advice. The monarch still performs the formal ratification.

Related Topics:
Prerogative - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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The title was invented for Elizabeth I. Her father, Henry VIII, was responsible for the English church breaking away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope excommunicated Henry in 1533 over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. By 1536, Henry had broken with Rome, seized the church's assets in England and declared the Church of England as the established church with himself as its head. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 confirmed the King's status as having supremacy over the church and required the nobility to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy. Henry's daughter, Queen Mary I, attempted to restore the English Church's allegiance to the Pope and repealed the Act of Supremacy in 1555. Elizabeth took the throne in 1558 and, the next year, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy of 1559 that restored the original act. However, to placate critics, the Oath of Supremacy nobles were required to swear gave the monarch's title as Supreme Governor of the church rather than Supreme Head, which had been her father's title, as Supreme Governor sounded less powerful as it implied she was acting as a proxy rather than as head in her own right. (Speaking loosely, many people still today refer to the Queen as the "Head of the Church", but the Church itself rejects this, as the Bible gives this title to Jesus.)

Related Topics:
Elizabeth I - Henry VIII - Roman Catholic Church - Pope - Excommunicated - Catherine of Aragon - Church of England - Established church - Act of Supremacy - Queen Mary I - Parliament - Oath of Supremacy

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Defender of the Faith has been part of the British monarch's title since Henry VIII was originally granted it by Pope Leo X in 1521 in recognition, ironically enough, of Henry's role in opposing the Protestant Reformation. The pope withdrew the title, but it was later reconferred by Parliament in the reign of Edward VI

Related Topics:
Defender of the Faith - Pope Leo X - Protestant Reformation

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See also: separation of church and state

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