The Church of England emerged in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII. Seeking to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry asked Pope Clement VII for permission, but the pope refused. In response, Henry and Parliament passed a series of acts that increasingly separated the English church from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1534 the Act of Supremacy declared Henry the supreme head of the Church of England, formalizing its independence from Rome.
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