British monarch as a head of state and a head of anglican church

Korijeni engleske povijesti sežu u rani srednji vijek, a možda i ranije, u vrijeme kad su istočne obale Britanskog otočja zaposjela germanska plemena s kontinenta. Ona su pretrpjela invaziju Vikinga i Normana, ali su uspjela sačuvati svoju anglosasku kulturu, razvila su zajedničke zakone i zajednički upravljački sustav utemeljen između saske samostalnosti “srodnika i prijatelja” i normanske tradicije središnje vlasti. Engleska je bila nacija iskovana između čekića kraljevske vlasti i nakovnja narodnog pristanka, pristanka koji je redovito bio uskraćen, posebno od keltske polovice Britanskog otočja što je dovelo do brojnih sukoba, buna, velikaških ratova te vjerskih i političkih prevrata. Ti su prevrati doveli do utemeljenja ustavne monarhije podložne parlamentarnoj demokraciji koja se pokazala najstabilnijom u Europi. U ovom radu bavit ću se upravo tom osobitom stabilnošću personificiranom u osobi britanskog monarha koji već stoljećima postojano stoji na čelu svoje države i Crkve. Prezentirat ću povijesne činjenice nastanka Engleskog kraljevstva i Anglikanske crkve činom Henrikovog proglašenja vlastite supremacije i njegovog odvajanja od pape kao dotadašnjeg crkvenog poglavara te dinamični odnos države i Crkve kroz povijest pa sve do suvremenog doba, pa i odnos različitih crkava na teritoriju Velike Britanije i njihov položaj prema suverenu. Razmotrit ću i ulogu religije u suvremenom britanskom društvu i tendencije njezinog razvoja u budućnosti. Kako bi se spoznali i razumijeli razlozi sudjelovanja članova Crkve u svjetovnoj vlasti, točnije njihovo konstantno mjesto u Domu lordova, potrebno je bilo i objasniti položaj crkvenog plemstva u prošlosti i kako se ti razlozi odražavaju na sastav suvremenog britanskog parlamenta. Naposlijetku, izložit ću funkcije britanskog monarha danas, njegovu tradicijsku i ceremonijalnu važnost koja je u današnje vrijeme možda najočiglednija ali i političku, koja je, iako u odnosu na prošla vremena znatno smanjena, još uvijek prisutna, pogotovo pri izboru crkvenih poglavara i premijera i koja bi također mogla postati od primarne važnosti u nekoliko izloženih hipotetskih situacijaThe roots of English history are dating back to the early middle ages, and maybe even earlier at the time when Germanic tribes occupied east coasts of British isles. They suffered Viking and Norman invasion, but they succeeded to keep their anglo-saxon culture, they developed their common laws and common state regulation founded between saxon independence of “relatives and friends and norman tradition of central government. England was the nation forged between the hammer of royal authority and anvil of popular consent that was often denied, especially from the celtic half of the British isles which brought to numerous conflicts, rebellions, wars of nobles and religious and politic upheavals. Those upheavals led to the establishment of constitutional monarchy subjected to parliamentary democracy which proved to be the most stabile in Europe. In this graduation thesis I will write about this special stability personified in the character of british monarch which has been standing steady for centuries at the head of his state and church. I will present historical facts of the origin of the English kingdom and the Anglican church by the act of king’s Henry proclamation of his own supremacy and his separation from the Pope as the previous head of church in England, the dynamic relationship between the state and the church through the history and up to modern times, and the relationship between different churches on the territory of Great Britain and their position towards the sovereignity. I will also consider the role of religion in contemporary british society and the tendencies of its developments in the future. In order to understand reasons for participation church members in secular government, specifically their permanent place in the House of Lords, it was also necessary to explain the position of the church nobility in the past and hpw these reasons are maintained in the composition of the modern British parliament. Finally, I will outline the functions of the British monarch today, his traditional and ceremonial importance which is perhaps most evident in the present days, but also the political importance, which although, compared to the past times, has been significantly reduced, is still present, especially in the election of church leaders and prime ministers and which could also become of primary importance in several exposed hypothetical situations