| Supreme Governor of the Church of England | |
|---|---|
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| Church of England | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| Residence | Buckingham Palace |
| Constituting instrument | Act of Supremacy 1558 |
| Precursor | Supreme Head of the Church of England |
| Formation | 1558 |
| First holder | Elizabeth I |
TheSupreme Governor of the Church of England is thetitular head of theChurch of England, a position which is vested in theBritish monarch.[1] Although the monarch's authority over the Church of England is largely ceremonial and is mostly observed in a symbolic capacity,[2] the position is still relevant to theestablished church. As the supreme governor, the monarch formally appoints high-ranking members of the church on the advice of theprime minister of the United Kingdom, who in turn acts on the advice of theCrown Nominations Commission.[1] Since the Act of Settlement of 1701, all Supreme Governors have been members of the Church of England.
By 1536, KingHenry VIII had broken with theHoly See, seized assets of theCatholic Church in England and Wales and declared theChurch of England as theestablished church with himself as itssupreme head. TheAct of Supremacy 1534 confirmed the king's status as having supremacy over the church and required thepeers to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy.[3] Henry's daughterMary I attempted to restore the English Church's allegiance to thePope and repealed the Act of Supremacy in 1555.[4]Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in 1558, and theParliament restored the original Act by passing theAct of Supremacy 1558.[5] To placate critics, theOath of Supremacy, which peers were required to swear, set the monarch's title assupreme governor rather thansupreme head of the restored Church of England. This wording avoided the charge that the monarchy wasclaiming divinity or subordinatingJesus of Nazareth (whom theChristian Bible explicitly identified as thehead of the Church in theEpistle to the Ephesians).[6]
"Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor) has been part of the English—and since the union of Scotland and England, the British—monarch's title since Henry VIII was granted it byPope Leo X in 1521 in recognition of Henry's role in opposing theProtestant Reformation.[3] The pope withdrew the title, but it was later reconferred by Parliament in the reign ofEdward VI.
The monarch's role is acknowledged in the preface to theThirty-Nine Articles of 1562. It states that:
Being by God's Ordinance, according to Our just Title, Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church, within these Our Dominions, We hold it most agreeable to this Our Kingly Office, and Our own religious zeal, to conserve and maintain the Church committed to Our Charge, in Unity of true Religion, and in the Bond of Peace ... We have therefore, upon mature Deliberation, and with the Advice of so many of Our Bishops as might conveniently be called together, thought fit to make this Declaration following ... That We are Supreme Governor of the Church of England ...
Article 37 makes this claim toroyal supremacy more explicit:
The Queen's Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, and other her Dominions, unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign Jurisdiction. ... [We] give not to our Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the Sacraments ... but only that prerogative, which we see to have been given always to all godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God himself; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evildoers. The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.[7]
The British monarch vows to uphold the constitution of theChurch of Scotland (aPresbyteriannational church), but does not hold a leadership position in it. Nevertheless, the monarch appoints theLord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as their personal representative, with a ceremonial role.Queen Elizabeth II on occasion filled the role personally, as when she opened the General Assembly in 1977 and 2002 (herSilver andGolden Jubilee years).[8]
| Name | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Henry VIII | 1531–1547 | Assupreme head. |
| Edward VI | 1547–1553 | Assupreme head. WithThomas Cranmer, authorised theBook of Common Prayer. |
| Mary I andPhilip | 1553–1555 | Assupreme head (from 1554 the couple omitted the title, without statutory authority until authorised by Parliament in 1555). Promoted theCatholic Reformation in England and Wales. |
| Elizabeth I | 1558–1603 | SeeElizabethan Religious Settlement. |
| James I | 1603–1625 | SeeJames VI and I and religious issues. Authorized theKing James Version of the Bible. |
| Charles I | 1625–1649 | Canonised martyr of the Church of England. |
| Interregnum | 1649–1660 | |
| Charles II | 1660–1685 | Converted toCatholicismon his deathbed. |
| James II | 1685–1688 | LastCatholic to hold the position; he only held it as statutory authority. |
| Mary II | 1689–1694 | Reigned jointly with her husband (and cousin)William III. |
| William III | 1689–1702 | At first reigned jointly withMary II, 1689–1694.Calvinist. |
| Name | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Anne | 1702–1714 | Raised an Anglican.[9] During her reign, theActs of Union 1707 merged England and Scotland to form theKingdom of Great Britain. Since then, monarchs also swear to preserve theChurch of Scotland.[10] Married to theLutheranPrince George of Denmark. |
| George I | 1714–1727 | Elector of theHoly Roman Empire. First Protestant in the line set forth by theSuccession to the Crown Act 1707. Lutheran. |
| George II | 1727–1760 | Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheran. |
| George III | 1760–1820 | Head of the Lutheran Church in Hanover. Creation of theUnited Church of England and Ireland in 1800. |
| George IV | 1820–1830 | Catholic emancipation enacted by theRoman Catholic Relief Act 1829. |
| William IV | 1830–1837 | |
| Victoria | 1837–1901 | TheChurch of Ireland wasdisestablished by theIrish Church Act 1869. |
| Edward VII | 1901–1910 | |
| George V | 1910–1936 | TheChurch in Wales was disestablished by theWelsh Church Act 1914. |
| Edward VIII | 1936 | Pressured to abdicate, formalised by theHis Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936. |
| George VI | 1936–1952 | |
| Elizabeth II | 1952–2022 | Longest-serving, at 70 years. |
| Charles III | 2022–present |
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