The Anglican tradition retained the core teaching and liturgy of the catholic Church in Britain-we do not feel that we are a “new denomination” but the continuation of the catholic faith that was present in Britain before the mission of St. Augustine
Granted this is how the Anglicans feel and believe.
Just for the sake of saying, as a non-Anglican I would see differently, and which was my search here to seek clarification.
GKC’s statement (post #93) was this, *
‘the Church in England, from its earliest days (which are a little lost in history), to the conflict in Henry’s day, was the same church. And that was the one with its seat in Rome’, *which made it a Catholic Church under the Papacy.
The term
‘seat in Rome’ is rather loaded (probably as a prelude to a starting point of the schism argument in mind), which is not ordinarily used by Catholics but the meaning was clear, it was the Catholic Church, for what else could it be in the sixteenth century.
Being so, Henry was a Catholic, albeit a king of his country. The Catholic Church was not fragmented into any one country unlike the Orthodox churches, for example, where they have Greek, Russian, Ukrainian Orthodox Church though with same doctrine, etc., but one, being under the Pope (in Rome).
It would be an anomaly to call it the Catholic Church of England which imply it was an autonomous church in the Orthodox fashion. What happened with all Henry’s deferments to the Pope for religious ruling made sense, as it was a very Catholic thing to do.
Reuben