ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

History of the Church of England

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a king named King Henry VIII. King Henry was married to a beautiful queen, but she did not give him a son. King Henry wanted a son to be the future king of England, but his wife could only have daughters. King Henry was very sad, and he wanted a new wife who could give him a son.

But the church, which was led by the Pope in Rome, said that King Henry could not just choose a new wife. The church said that marriage is forever and that King Henry could not just get a divorce.

King Henry was very angry at the church, and he decided that he needed to make his own church, one where he could choose his own rules. So in 1534, King Henry broke away from the Pope and created the Church of England.

King Henry made himself the head of the new church, and he decided that he could get a divorce and marry someone else. King Henry married several different women, but he still did not have a son. Eventually, he did have a daughter named Elizabeth, who would become Queen Elizabeth I.

Over the years, the Church of England became very powerful in England. The church leaders, called bishops, became very important and influential. The Church of England had its own ceremonies, its own prayers, and its own rules that were different from the Catholic Church in Rome.

Some people in England did not like the Church of England. They thought that the church should be more like the Catholic Church or that it should not be controlled by the king. These people were called Puritans, and they wanted to change the Church of England to be more like their own beliefs.

In the 17th century, there was a big fight between the Puritans and the Church of England. The Puritans wanted to change the church, but the church did not want to change. This fight eventually led to a civil war in England, which the Puritans won.

After the civil war, the Puritans were in charge of England, and they tried to make the Church of England more like their own beliefs. But when the Puritans were no longer in power, the Church of England went back to its old ways.

Today, the Church of England is still very important in England. It has the queen as its head, and it has many important traditions and ceremonies. But it is also different from the Catholic Church and other Protestant churches around the world.