The Church of England (C of E) is the officially established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the historic mother church of the Anglican tradition, and its members are known as Anglicans. The church traces its roots to Christianity in Roman Britain by the 3rd century and to the Gregorian mission to Kent in 597, led by Augustine of Canterbury.

In 1534, under King Henry VIII, the Church of England broke with the authority of the papacy through acts of Parliament, launching the English Reformation. A central architect of early Anglican theology and worship was Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who shaped doctrine and produced the church’s signature liturgy, the Book of Common Prayer. Papal authority was briefly restored during the reign of Mary I, but the separation was renewed under Elizabeth I. The Elizabethan Settlement (1559–1563) established a lasting framework for a church that described itself as a via media—a “middle way”—often understood as holding elements associated with both Reformed Protestantism and historic catholic practice.

Throughout the Reformation era and beyond, English religious life was marked by conflict. Both Catholics and Protestants suffered persecution at different times, and later laws penalized Catholics as well as Protestant groups outside the Church of England. Debates over doctrine and governance continued into the 17th century, intensifying during the English Civil War. Under the Puritan-led Commonwealth, bishops and the Book of Common Prayer were abolished, but both were restored after the Stuart Restoration in 1660.

The Church of England has long worshiped primarily in English and is often described as a broad church, containing multiple traditions—commonly associated with Anglo-Catholic, high church, central church, and low church/evangelical streams. In modern times, tensions between conservatives and liberals have been especially visible in debates over issues such as the ordination of women and questions surrounding same-sex relationships.

Constitutionally, the British monarch (currently King Charles III) is the church’s Supreme Governor, while the senior cleric is the Archbishop of Canterbury—Sarah Mullally, confirmed in office on 28 January 2026. The church is organized into dioceses led by bishops and subdivided into local parishes. Its legislative body, the General Synod, includes bishops, clergy, and lay members, and its measures require approval through the UK’s established church procedures. 

Lady Margaret Beaufort (31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a powerful figure in the late fifteenth century and a key player in the politics of the Wars of the Roses. She was the mother of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, and was related by blood to several English monarchs, including Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.

Descending from King Edward III, Margaret carried a contested royal claim that she helped pass to her son, Henry Tudor. In an era marked by instability and shifting alliances, she worked persistently—through negotiation, planning, and strategic partnerships—to advance Henry’s cause. Her efforts helped lead to Henry’s victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the turning point that brought the Tudor dynasty to the throne. After Henry became king, Margaret enjoyed unusual influence and independence for a woman of her time, and she became a major patron of religion, education, and culture.

Origins

Margaret was the only child and heiress of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and Margaret Beauchamp. Through the Beaufort line—descended from John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford—she inherited both great wealth and a politically sensitive connection to the royal family. She was born at Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire, most likely on 31 May 1443.

Early life and marriages

After her father’s death, Margaret became a wealthy ward whose marriage and lands were controlled by others under the feudal system. As a child she was contracted in marriage to John de la Pole, but that union was later dissolved and Margaret did not consider it binding. King Henry VI then arranged her marriage to his half-brother Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Margaret formally agreed to the match while still very young, and she married Edmund in 1455 when she was twelve.

Edmund died in 1456 while Margaret was pregnant. At just thirteen, she gave birth to Henry Tudor at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457. The birth was difficult and likely left her unable to have more children. To protect her position and her son’s future, she later married Sir Henry Stafford, and after his death, she married Thomas Stanley, a powerful noble.

Role in the Wars of the Roses

During the Yorkist reign of Edward IV, Margaret had limited access to her son, who was kept under the control of others. After renewed conflict and Lancastrian defeat in 1471, Henry Tudor was taken into exile, and Margaret would not see him again for many years.

Following Edward IV’s death and Richard III’s seizure of the throne in 1483, Margaret became deeply involved in plans to remove Richard. She helped coordinate alliances, including cooperation with Elizabeth Woodville, and supported the proposal that Henry Tudor would marry Elizabeth of York—a match designed to unite Lancastrian and Yorkist factions. After the failure of early uprisings, Richard III moved against Margaret’s property and status, but she continued to communicate and organize support.

In 1485, Henry Tudor returned and defeated Richard III at Bosworth. After Henry became king, Margaret was honored at court as “the King’s Mother” and gained legal independence through a special status that allowed her to hold property and act in law largely as though she were unmarried.

Influence under Henry VII

Margaret remained a central figure in the early Tudor court. Contemporary observers noted that Henry VII relied heavily on her counsel. She took a strong interest in royal family affairs, including household organization and marriage planning, and after her daughter-in-law Elizabeth of York died in 1503, Margaret became the leading female presence at court.

When Henry VII died in April 1509, Margaret helped manage the transition of power, arranging key details surrounding his funeral and the coronation of Henry VIII.

Death and burial

Margaret died on 29 June 1509 at Westminster, only weeks after her grandson Henry VIII’s coronation. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, in the chapel associated with Henry VII, beneath an elaborate tomb created by Pietro Torrigiano.

Legacy

Margaret Beaufort is remembered not only for helping secure the Tudor dynasty, but also for her lasting contributions to education and religion. She founded Christ’s College, Cambridge (1505) and initiated the establishment of St John’s College, Cambridge (completed after her death). She also supported scholarship through endowed professorships in divinity and became known for her religious devotion, patronage of printing, and support for learning. Institutions such as Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, were later named in her honor, reflecting her enduring influence on English academic and cultural life.

King James, The Author of Confusion: Mixing Pure with Impure: 

by Trey Knowles

King James was not a man of God, but a deceiver. He immersed himself in medieval philosophy, metaphysics, and occult thought, seeking power and influence over realms beyond human understanding in order to control the world under his authority. He took what was holy, distorted it, and polluted it. He altered the image of God and replaced it with his own likeness and ideology.

He persecuted the children of God and presented them with a version of the Bible that, in my view, was corrupted—designed to place them under spiritual and political control for the sake of his kingdom. His influence over the world, I argue, resembles a kind of mass hypnosis—similar to modern concepts like Quantum Physics Hypnosis, a technique that blends traditional hypnosis with ideas from quantum theory to produce deep psychological and spiritual experiences. In this way, you see his rule as shaping perception and directing belief on a global scale.

I believe his kingdom, along with ruling powers in Europe, orchestrated systems that influenced and controlled populations through imposed religious imagery and doctrine—taking what was pure and making it impure.

I ask: For those who claim to know God’s character, do those who claim to be Christians who rule as Christians, and conquer in blood, murder, and cruelty, and behave like beasts, do this reflect His nature? If you study their history, what do you see? Many attend their schools and live under their authority. Many sit in their churches and are discouraged from questioning or reasoning. 

Do they truly know the character of Yeshua? If they did, the character of Yahweh would be evident in their actions. Their own churches say they cannot be holy, they cannot stop sinning until Yahweh comes back; this is a lie. For everyone who loves God lives in the spirit of God by keeping his commands. 

Whoever desires to be a disciple of Yeshua must follow Him—walking as He walked and obeying the commands of the Father in heaven. I argue that King James mixed sacred scripture with impure elements, becoming, in my words, an author of confusion.

Meanwhile, I believe that European powers, including royal families, colonized and oppressed God’s people, reducing them to subjugation and placing them under ideological control. This, I suggest, is why Yeshua said He came in His Father’s name so that people might have life. Yet those who claim His name while acting in ways that steal, kill, and destroy do not reflect the Father. As it is written, you will know them by their fruits.

I conclude that what was created was an illusion—so vast and pervasive that many cannot perceive it for what it is.

Based on King James’s book Daemonologie, the evidence suggests that he understood the power of spiritual influence and used it to shape and control public belief. In my view, this demonstrates a deliberate attempt to mislead and manipulate the masses, especially those who sought to follow God.

I argue that through his writings and authority, King James became, in effect, an author of confusion—blending fear, superstition, and religious doctrine in ways that obscured truth rather than clarified it. By what I describe as a “spell” of influence and control, nations were led astray.

As it is written:

“By your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people,
of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

Now it is time to wait for your judgment to appear, for I never knew you. You do not come in my Father’s name.

Sincerely,
Trey Knowles