Act of Supremacy 1534

The statute making the monarch head of the Church of England

Overview

The Act of Supremacy declared Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England, severing obedience to Rome after the Pope refused his annulment. It made religious allegiance a matter of statute and treason, and its repeal under Mary and restoration under Elizabeth in 1559 shows how the Reformation ran through Parliament. The act founded the legal identity of the Church of England and set the template of royal supremacy over church and state. Refusal to swear the required oath cost Sir Thomas More his head in 1535.