ACT OF SUPREMACY

Act of  Supremacy.Hist. A statute that  named the English sovereign as supreme  head  of the

Church of England (26 Hen. 8, ch. 1). • The Act was passed in 1534 during Henry VIII’s reign and

confirmed in 1559 (1 Eliz., ch. 1) to counteract pro-Catholic legislation enacted during the reign of

Mary Tudor. In addition to making the monarch both head of state and head of the church, the Act

defined  some  of  the  monarch’s  powers  as  head  of  the  church,  such  as  the  power  to  issue

injunctions relating to ecclesiastical affairs. [Blacks Law 8th]