Obedience in Church and State

"Obedience in Church and State" is a significant collection of the political and ecclesiastical writings of Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester and a prominent figure in the Tudor court. Central to this volume is Gardiner's influential treatise, "De Vera Obedientia", which served as a foundational defense of royal supremacy during the reign of King Henry VIII. The work explores the complex legal and theological arguments used to justify the monarch's authority over the national church, marking a decisive break from papal jurisdiction.

Through these texts, Gardiner articulates the duties of subjects to their sovereign and the intricate relationship between temporal power and spiritual governance. His arguments provide a window into the intellectual climate of the English Reformation, where the concepts of loyalty and divine right were being radically redefined. This collection is an essential resource for understanding the ideological shifts that shaped the Church of England and the modern British state. Highlighting the intersection of law, religion, and political philosophy, "Obedience in Church and State" remains a vital primary source for scholars of 16th-century history and the evolution of political thought.

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