Medieval & Reformation Church

Postulants should know about the Great Schism which took place around 1054 A.D. In this tragic break, ending a millennium of Christian unity, the undivided church was profoundly broken by schism. Be able to describe how the Western Church continued to develop the power of the papacy through its zenith in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, papal schism (“the Babylonian captivity of the papacy”) in the early 14th century and the Reformation (and next great schism) in the sixteenth century. Be prepared to speak about these developments to explain how and why the Reformation took place. Especially it is important for you to know what major events shaped the English Church into the Anglican Church leading up to the eighteenth century just prior to the American Revolution and the development of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Below you will find various topics that you should at least be able to recognize and describe briefly.

◦ Read J. R. H Moorman, A History of the Church of England: focus your study on the English Reformation, especially the development of the Prayer Book, Henry VIII’s break with Rome (and the 1534 Act of Supremacy), the Elizabethan Settlement (1558 Act of Uniformity and Act of Supremacy)

◦ Read this article as a basic introduction to the history of the church from the last ecumenical council to the Reformation: [1]