For centuries the Church in England had been moving toward independence from Rome. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1474-1530) is probably the best symbol of the independence England had achieved even prior to Henry’s break with Rome. Wolsey was the Archbishop of York, a Cardinal in the Church of Rome, and the chancellor of the English realm. So in his own person, he combined the Church in England, the Church of Rome and the Kingdom of England. Yet in all of these offices he was the king’s henchman, subject to honor or disgrace at the royal whim.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, Church-of-Rome, ChurchRodent, history, Thomas, Thomas-Wolsey[/tags]