The Ecclesiastical Appeals Act 1533 ( 24 Hen. 8. c. 12), also called the Statute in Restraint of Appeals, the Act of Appeals and the Act of Restraints in Appeals, was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

. It was passed in the first week of April 1533. It is considered by many historians to be the key legal foundation of the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

. The act, drafted by

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

on behalf of King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, forbade all appeals to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

in Rome on religious or other matters, making the King the final legal authority in all such matters in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and other English possessions. This was achieved by claiming that England was an

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

and the English crown was an Imperial Crown – Henry's historians claimed that they could trace the lineage back to Brutus and the fall of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. This far-reaching measure made accepting papal authority, or following papal rulings in church, faith or other matters illegal. It was followed a year later by the

Act of Supremacy 1534 The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the En ...

( 26 Hen. 8. c. 1) which made Henry "the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia, and shall have and enjoy annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm". Those in his realms had to acknowledge this as they were by acts of Parliament that automatically changed any previous constitutional arrangements. Not to do so was high treason, which would lead to trial and execution as happened to

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

. The Acts enabled

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

to finally grant King Henry his long-desired divorce from queen

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

, so that he could marry

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

.A letter written on 22 June 1536 by Princess Mary to King Henry VIII acknowledging the annulment of her parents' marriage
/ref>

Extract

Legacy

The whole act, in so far as it extended to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, was repealed by section 1(1) of, and schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1950. Section 2 of the act was repealed by section 13(2) of, an
Part I
of schedule 4 to the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. ...

. In section 4 of the act, the words from the beginning to "any other courte or courtes" were repealed by section 87 of, and schedule 5 to, the

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963 The Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963 (No. 1) is a Church of England measure simplifying ecclesiastical law as it applied to the Church of England, following the recommendations of the 1954 Archbishops' Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts. ...

(No 1). This section, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 13(2) of, and part I of schedule 4 to the

. In section 3 of the act, the words from "in manner and forme as hereafter ensueth" to the end were repealed by section 87 of, an
schedule 5
to, the

(No. 1). The whole act, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 1 of, and Part II of th
schedule
to, the

Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 (c. 52) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act implemented recommendations contained in the first report on statute law revision made by the Law Commission. The enactments which were re ...

Notes

References

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Extract

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

Further reading