who began the religious change in england and who carried out the change over several years
History of the Church of England
Henry first asked for an annulment in 1527 . After various failed initiatives he stepped up the pressure on Rome , in the summer of 1529 , by compiling a manuscript from ancient sources arguing that , in law , spiritual supremacy rested with the monarch and also against the legality of Papal authority . In 1531 Henry first challenged the Pope when he demanded 100,000 pounds from the clergy in exchange for a royal pardon for what he called their illegal jurisdiction . He also demanded that the clergy should recognise him as their sole protector and supreme head . The church in England recognised Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church of England on 11 February 1531 . Nonetheless , he continued to seek a compromise with the Pope , but negotiations ( which had started in 1530 and ended in 1532 ) with the papal legate Antonio Giovanni da Burgio failed . Efforts by Henry to appeal to Jewish scholarship concerning the contours of levirate marriage were unavailing as well .
Henry first asked for an annulment in 1527 . After various failed initiatives he stepped up the pressure on Rome , in the summer of 1529 , by compiling a manuscript from ancient sources arguing that , in law , spiritual supremacy rested with the monarch and also against the legality of Papal authority . In 1531 Henry first challenged the Pope when he demanded 100,000 pounds from the clergy in exchange for a royal pardon for what he called their illegal jurisdiction . He also demanded that the clergy should recognise him as their sole protector and supreme head . The church in England recognised Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church of England on 11 February 1531 . Nonetheless , he continued to seek a compromise with the Pope , but negotiations ( which had started in 1530 and ended in 1532 ) with the papal legate Antonio Giovanni da Burgio failed . Efforts by Henry to appeal to Jewish scholarship concerning the contours of levirate marriage were unavailing as well .