In 1534, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, a statute recognizing King Henry VIII as supreme head of the church in England. Henry VIII formally accepted the title the following year, and the nobility were required to swear the Oath of Supremacy, recognizing the King as head of the church. Catholics, most famously Sir Thomas More, who still held the Pope as the supreme head of the church, refused to swear this oath, and were indicted for treason on charges of praemunire.

This act was later repealed by Queen Mary, and restated under Queen Elizabeth I.

• The text of the Act of Supremacy, 1534.
  
• The text of the Second Statute of Repeal, 1555.
  
• The text of the Act of Supremacy, 1559.
  

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