A small first step

On Thursday 23^rd October 2025 King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the Vatican. There they met with Pope Leo XIV. So much so ordinary you might think. But the King and Pope prayed together in the Sistine Chapel. The Catholic Pope, leader of the world’s Catholics and the Supreme Governor (not head) of the Church of England prayed together.

Now you might suppose that a Catholic and an Anglican praying together is not so very strange at this point in our history – and you would be right; normally! But symbolically, at least, this is very significant indeed.

There has been a deep division between Rome and the Church of England for around half a millennium, five hundred years. The division was caused by the Pope’s refusal to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Henry rejected the Pope’s authority and made himself head of the Church in England. Everybody knows that from their school history lessons.

Of course, as always, it’s rather more complicated than that. There was a lot of political activity with Henry needing to form alliances and raise money to support his military ambitions. In addition, the same debates which were going on in the Reformation in continental Europe were also affecting Church life in England. Many of Henry’s leading church leaders were keen to see a reformation in England. The advice he received about how to gain his political ends will have served the interests of those who wished to see the Reformation take off in England.

When Henry severed links with Rome he had no wish for the Church to change at all. He wanted the same Mass to be said, the same prayers, the same ecclesiastical setup. Hence the Church of England maintained much of its catholic practice. But it also underwent significant changes at the hands of Thomas Cranmer and other bishops of the time. Out went the Latin, in came the English Bible and liturgy, changes were made to the liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer, clergy were permitted to marry, traditional catholic doctrine was challenged and teachings closer to those of the reformers took its place.

Catholics were persecuted in England and relationships were severed. It was not until the 19^th Century that the temperature started to cool. The Second Vatican Council saw the Catholic Church become more open to dialogue with the Protestant and Anglican Churches.

There are still many barriers to organic unity between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. These include some key doctrines of the Catholic Church, the ordination of women as priests and, especially, as bishops in the Anglican Communion. The readiness of Anglican Churches in north America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere to sanction the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals and to sanction same-sex relationships is a notable stumbling block for unity. However, things change, albeit slowly, in the Catholic Church and the same issues threaten unity within the Anglican Communion and the Church of England itself itself.

So, to return to the prayers of King and Pope and its significance. No English monarch has prayed with the Pope (although the late Queen visited Rome and welcomed Pope John Paul II when he visited the UK) since the division with Henry VIII. When previous meetings took place praying together was not considered appropriate. That it is today reveals a greater openness to celebrate what we share in common. Perhaps too it suggests that we are prepared to start out on a path towards unity. It’s along way off yet but it cou;d the first small step.

But symbolically it is a huge step forward. In the journey towards the unity of the Church, which is surely Christ’s will, it is a tiny, almost imperceptible step along that path. However, both Catholics and Anglicans know the deep significance of symbols – and that praying together is the surest path to unity.