June 26, 2017
Devotions: Timeline of the Reformation: Defender of the Faith 1521

King Henry III was conferred with this title “Defender of the Faith” on October 21, 1521 by Pope Leo X. The king had written a pamphlet titled Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum, or in English “Declaration of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther”. As you may have determined by the title, it was written against Luther. King Henry VIII had started to write it in 1519 when he was reading Luther’s attacks on the practice of selling Indulgences by the Catholic Church. As you may recall, Luther saw this practice as simply a way for the church to extort money from people who were already poor, and to keep them in constant worry about their salvation and the salvation of their departed loved ones.

By June of that year, Henry had shown it to a certain Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey was a churchman, statesman, and Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Wolsey was Henry’s Almoner, the church official who distributes money to the poor. By 1514 he was the Archbishop of York (the second most important cleric in England). By the time Henry completed the “Assertio septem…” it was not only in response to Luther’s arguments against Indulgences, but also his treatise “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church”. It is believed that Thomas More, also known as Saint Thomas More by the Catholic Church, who was a councilor to Henry and the Lord High Chancellor of England, was also involved in the composition of the piece. One author (J. J. Scarisbrick) describes Henry’s document as “one of the most successful pieces of Catholic polemics produced by the first generation of anti-Protestant writers.” It went through some twenty editions in the sixteenth century and, as early as 1522, had appeared in two different German translations. King Henry VIII may best be known for his six marriages, and in particular his efforts to have his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. His disagreement with the Pope on the question of the annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation – separating the Church of England from the authority of the Pope and appointing himself as Supreme Head of the Church of England. Though a complicated figure, he remained faithful to the core teachings of the Catholic church and expanded royal power during his reign. He used his authority with deadly aim, executing many without formal trials, and many of his own ministers were also executed when they fell out of his favor. He was an author and composer. As he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterized in his later life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh, and insecure king. (adapted and adopted from wikipedia, britannica.com, Defender of the Faith)

Pastor Dave