This continued until Henry VIII, so desperate to produce a male heir, broke Papal control over England and named himself Head of the Church that taught an offshoot of Christianity based on the teachings of Martin Luther, the Protestant Church of England. This change did not make much difference, as the main different was the head of the Church and belief about divorce. Many more changes came after Henry died in 1547 and Edward VI became king. Edward, led by his advisors, moved England completely from Catholicism and to Protestantism. He passed laws such as making churches and bishops more plain, services be said in English and creating the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and a refined version in 1552.
Third, Germanic tribes with their barbaric invasions weakened the Roman Empire which led to disappearance of Roman ways. Although there were a lot of changes within this time period, the Mediterranean region had much continuity such as keeping Christianity as their dominant religion, continued to keep German as their dominant language, and lastly keeping Greco-Roman laws and ideas which shaped the Byzantine Empire political attitude. Religious practices drastically changed during the 300 c.e. period. During Constantine’s reign, the introduction of state-sponsored Christianity drastically converted many people from Roman polytheism to monotheistic Christianity.
At the start of Henry VIIIs reign, most of England were Roman Catholic and accepted the Pope as the Head of the Church, but in the 16th century, and so was he until he split off the English Church from the Roman church When the Pope refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. He then went on to make himself the spiritual head of the English church rather than the Pope. Henry VIII declared himself supreme head of a new Church of England. (The Act of Supremacy and reformation). The voices of statesmen and of priests extolled his wisdom and power as more than human.
This brings me on to a long term issue of the Puritans which lead them to the presenting of the petition. They felt that they had been treated unsympathetically by Elizabeth there had been discontent building since her death. There were so many issues within the church that Puritans wanted to see be addressed and changed. All which were
Religious toleration in between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries varied greatly between the leaders during this time period; some wanted complete control over the religions practiced, some wanted some control with some freedom, and other leaders wanted complete freedom of religions. In the previous modern Europe, many states churches had been established by the rulers. Therefore, as a result of the Protestant Reformation, many states had a several religious minorities. Which lead to many different catastrophes that affected Europe in a negative way, people started to revolt and protest the ruler’s management of the states. Firstly, rulers in early modern Europe wanted complete control over the religions practiced in their states.
The Pope was customarily the top leader of the church and all matters of divinity were his concerns. Orthodox Churches structured from Byzantine Christianity, which was associated to Constantinople, and gradually became detached from Roman Catholicism by disputes over authority and differences over religion. This changed when Eastern Europe adopted Caesaropapism. Caesaropapism is the idea of combining the power of government with, or making
However, considering that almost all of England, and Europe for that matter, was Roman Catholic at the time (bar a few smaller Christian religions, which did not affect the country on a national level), it is not the case that religion, or religious disagreements, caused rebellion against the king. Even the different rival factions (Yorkist’s, Burgundy, Ireland, etc.) were all of the same religion. Furthermore, the Church itself was a major form of authority; since enforcing laws in a country such as England was difficult due to the vast distances between each county, the churches were “the main stabilizing force”. The church was ran by the Vatican, and not the state, therefore, if the people were upset by the church, they would protest to the church and not to the monarchy.
During the 1400- 1517, the conditions of the church changed. With the papal conflict with the German emperor Frederick II, followed by the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism it damaged the prestige of church leaders badly. The Renaissance was a period of rebirth and renewal. During the Renaissance, essential figures such as Martin Luther, Pope Leo X and Pope Nicholas, were accountable for the Protestant Reformation. According to(2000), “The four main Protestant traditions that emerged from the Reformation were the Lutheran (known in continental Europe as Evangelical), the Calvinist (Reformed), the Anabaptist, and the Anglican.
The Eastern Orthodox however has more political rule, with the patriarch and bishops heading the church as a group. The next significant difference amid the two churches is the political side of the organizations, and who controls that. Within the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope has all of the power and control over the emperor and other leaders. The Eastern Orthodox is less religiously authoritative, with the emperor of the region claiming all supremacy over everyone. Some minor differences between these two religions are the holidays, typical daily life, and relationship guidelines.
Fearing change, conservative Romans looked suspiciously at any religious advancement (Sherman 114). Romans feared converting to Christianity because Christians included the poor, slaves, and women as equals in their congregations, which violated the traditional Roman social order (Sherman 115). Traditional Romans also did not want to upset the Gods that they had previously been worshipping; they found rejection of their old gods difficult, leaving Romans hesitant of switching religions to Christianity (Sherman 115). Many authorities chose to harass Christians, while others simply just ignored the new religion (Sherman 115). In the late fourth century Theodosius I