3 November 1534: Parliament passes the Act of Supremacy
Henry VIII in Parliament, from the Wriothesley Garter Book (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) On this day, 3 November 1534, what is known as the Reformation Parliament passed the First Act of Supremacy, which confirmed that King Henry VIII and his successors were the Supreme Head of the English Church. It also made it treasonable to support the authority of the Pope in England. This Act paved the way for the English Reformation and the subsequent Dissolution of the Monasteries. This Act came into force in February 1535. All who were to take a public or church office were now required to take the Oath of Supremacy, recognizing Henry’s headship. The Oath of Supremacy was as follows: "I, ______________, do utterly testify and declare in my conscience that the King’s Highness is the only supreme governor of this realm, and of all other his Highness's dominions and countries, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes, as temporal, and that no foreign prince,