Vol.11 No.3

The History Behind England’s Act of Settlement
Why the English Monarch may neither be a Catholic nor be married to a Catholic
By Colin D. Standish

When England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, his wife, and children attend Mass at Westminster Cathedral, concerns are raised. Why? Aren’t he and his family entitled to worship as they choose?

To fully understand the issues involved, we must turn back the pages of history to the 12th century, when a close liaison existed between the Church of England and the Church of Rome. This liaison climaxed under King Edward the Confessor, whose loyalty to Rome made him popular with the popes of that era.

By the 13th century, under the unpopular King John, a significant schism developed between Rome and the monarchy. However, after his defeat by the French, John humbly accepted the overriding power of the pope. The papacy heavily taxed the English, causing great unrest in England and discontent with Rome. Many questioned the role of the papal leadership in Christianity.

For another century, the papacy exhibited gross wickedness and crimes, while still claiming to be the vicar of Christ and the successor of Peter. In the year 1378, two popes reigned—each claiming to be vicar of Christ; each claiming to be the infallible successor of Peter; and each claiming that the other was the antichrist!

The Morning Star Rises

Amid this ecclesiastical turmoil, God raised up John Wycliffe (1328-1384), an English  priest and rector of Lutterworth College, to expose the papacy’s cruel injustices. Known as the “Morning Star of the Reformation,” Wycliffe and his followers, the Lollards, distributed his writings, creating an unprecedented stir in England. Most importantly, Wycliffe was the first in England’s history to translate the Holy Scriptures into English. Although his  translation had imperfections, because of it, many Englishmen earnestly  studied God’s Word. Receiving the Scriptures in the English tongue greatly contributed to the later birth of English Protestantism.  

The primary break between Rome and England occurred in the 16th century during the profligate reign of King Henry VIII, whose shameful immorality brought deep embarrassment to Anglican history. Henry VIII desired an unbiblical divorce from his Roman Catholic Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn. When the pope denied the divorce, the determined King broke his ties to Rome and established the Church of England, independent from papal authority. This rapidly facilitated the Reformation, which had already commenced in his realm.

Tragedy struck when the only son of Henry VIII, Edward VI, died after a 6-year reign. Mary, the Catholic daughter of Catherine and Henry VIII, ascended the throne and immediately initiated ruthless persecution against the Protestants, earning her the title “Bloody Mary.” During her short reign, such luminaries as Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, and Bishops Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burned at the stake. 

After Mary’s execution, her younger Protestant sister, Elizabeth I, reigned for over 40 years. When Elizabeth I died, however, she left no heir. The crown then passed to her distant relative, James VI of Scotland.

A Gift From King James

James combined the English and Scottish crowns and became James I. His belief in the “divine right of kings” conflicted with the English people, but he gave the nation a great treasure—the Authorized Version of the Bible. In this revered translation, scholars avoided the corrupted Western Alexandrian Texts, used by the papacy, and used only the Eastern Syriac Texts that remained pure over many centuries.

When James I died, events changed rapidly. In 1625 his son, Charles, ascended the throne, but  was beheaded 24 years later for alleged treason against the English people. England was then governed as a Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. But again, the people desired a king, and Charles II ruled from 1660-1685.

His reign proved tragic for religious non-conformists, including Baptists and Sabbathkeepers. When he died, his younger brother, James II, was crowned. Shortly after, however, James II converted to Roman Catholicism, an intolerable religious change in England.

In the so-called “bloodless revolution,” James II was forced to abdicate the throne. His daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Prince William of Orange, arrived from the Netherlands to co-reign.

England now determined never again to come under papal rule. The 1689 British Bill of Rights, associated with the Act of Toleration, prohibited Roman Catholics from ever holding royal office in the kingdom. But the Act of Settlement, in 1701, clarified emphatically that neither the monarch nor his queen could be Roman Catholic. It also stated unequivocally that the ruling monarch was head of state and head of the Church.

* Colin D. Standish is president of Hartland Institute in Rapidan, Virginia.