This week in Christian history: Queen Elizabeth I excommunicated, first Methodist church chartered
Pope excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I – Feb. 25, 1570
This week marks the anniversary of when Pope Pius V officially excommunicated English Queen Elizabeth I over her support for the Protestant Reformation and mistreatment of Catholics.
Known as “Regnans in Excelsis,” or “reigning on high” in English, the papal bull excommunicating Elizabeth I labeled her “the servant of crime” who by her actions led England “to a miserable ruin.”
“She has removed the royal Council, composed of the nobility of England, and has filled it with obscure men, being heretics; oppressed the followers of the Catholic faith; instituted false preachers and ministers of impiety; abolished the sacrifice of the mass,” the edict alleged.
“… we do out of the fullness of our apostolic power declare the foresaid Elizabeth to be a heretic and favourer of heretics, and her adherents in the matters aforesaid to have incurred the sentence of excommunication and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ.”
While the excommunication edict, which had been aimed at undermining Elizabeth’s authority and returning England to Catholicism, failed to achieve either goal.
“The excommunication intensified anti-Catholic sentiment in England and solidified Elizabeth's status as a Protestant symbol,” explained an entry on EBSCO.
“Although it aimed to strengthen Catholic resistance, it instead contributed to the marginalization of English Catholics and led to further political and religious strife, culminating in broader conflicts, such as the failed Spanish Armada in 1588.”
