Supreme Governor of the Church of England facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Supreme Governor of the Church of England
Incumbent Charles III since 8 September 2022
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

The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is the titular head of the Church of England, a position which is vested in the British monarch. Although the monarch's authority over the Church of England is largely ceremonial and is mostly observed in a symbolic capacity, the position is still relevant to the established church. As the supreme governor, the monarch formally appoints high-ranking members of the church on the advice of the prime minister of the United Kingdom, who in turn acts on the advice of the Crown Nominations Commission. Since the Act of Settlement of 1701, all Supreme Governors have been members of the Church of England.

History

By 1536, King Henry VIII had broken with the Holy See, seized assets of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and declared the Church of England as the established church with himself as its supreme head. The Act of Supremacy 1534 confirmed the king's status as having supremacy over the church and required the peers to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy. Henry's daughter Mary I attempted to restore the English Church's allegiance to the Pope and repealed the Act of Supremacy in 1555. Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in 1558, and the Parliament restored the original Act by passing the Act of Supremacy 1558. To placate critics, the Oath of Supremacy, which peers were required to swear, set the monarch's title as supreme governor rather than supreme head of the restored Church of England. This wording avoided the charge that the monarchy was claiming divinity or subordinating Jesus of Nazareth (whom the Christian Bible explicitly identified as the head of the Church in the Epistle to the Ephesians).

"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 by Pope Leo X in 1521 in recognition of Henry's role in opposing the Protestant Reformation. The pope withdrew the title, but it was later reconferred by Parliament in the reign of Edward VI.

Thirty-Nine Articles

The monarch's role is acknowledged in the preface to the Thirty-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 to royal supremacy more explicit:

Church of Scotland

The British monarch vows to uphold the constitution of the Church of Scotland (a Presbyterian national church), but does not hold a leadership position in it. Nevertheless, the monarch appoints the Lord 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 (her Silver and Golden Jubilee years).

List of supreme governors

English

British

See also

In Spanish: Gobernador supremo de la Iglesia de Inglaterra para niños