Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an Augustinian monk/priest of the Catholic Church. He set out to reform the Church from the abuses on indulgences which indeed needed reform, but in the process he became a revolutionary.
The Bible became the whole source of faith. Man was completely depraved and could be saved by faith alone; man's free will did not play a part in it.
Justification by faith alone for Luther meant an infallible conviction that God for the sake of Christ will no longer impute us our sins. God considers us holy although in our inner selves we remain sinners as before. Like Luther, the Catholic Church taught that we are justified by God through Jesus Christ but this justification became an interior quality of the soul which makes us truly holy in the sight of God.
For Luther, there is no visible Church established by God. He rejected the priesthood because any Christian can be a priest. He kept only the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Penance. So, Luther minimized the Kingdom of Christ, the Church, thus depriving man of the diversity of ways Christ communicates with man and man responds to God.
What Lutheran believe today may be found in the Brook of Concord. We Catholics consider Lutherans and all other Christians denominations as our brothers and sisters in Christ. All those born into Christian communities and who have been justified in Baptism belong to Christ and cannot be accused of the sin of separation. "Christ's Spirit uses the Churches and the ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 819) We invite all those who feel so inclined into the fullness of the Kingdom of Christ on Earth to accept all the truths of faith that lead to final salvation and happiness.
Henry VIII (1509-1546). From the English side came the break up of the unity of Christ's Kingdom from an unlikely source, Henry VIII. Henry had written a book defending, against Luther, the dogmatic teaching of the Church on the Mass, Sacraments and the Supremacy of the Papacy. Pope Leo X was very pleased conferring upon the him the title of Defender of the Faith.
In 1509 Henry Married Catherine of of Aragon but he developed a passion for her sister Anne Boleyn and so partly from a desire to have a male heir, he sought a dispensation from the Pope. Rome refused because they saw no grounds for invalidity. So, Henry determined to marry Anne, maneuvered politically to have himself declared the Head of the Church of England. After his death, changes were made in the rite of ordination of priests thus invalidating the priesthood of England.
Today Anglican Churches associated with the Archbishop of Canterbury still hold on to much of Catholic Tradition and Doctrine as can be seen in the Book of Common Prayer (39 Articles). The question has been raised: "If they were invalid orders, how is it conceivable that God should so bless their use to those who have recourse to them?" First of all, Anglicans are incorporated into Christ through baptism which is a valid sacrament even when not administered by a priest. Secondly, the Sacrament of Matrimony does not derive from the power of the priest but from the mutual consent of man and woman. The priest is present as a witness and to guard against impediments, etc. The same cannot be said of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Anglicans believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist but since their priesthood is invalid, there cannot be the real presence. Extra sacramental grace is also gained by the efforts of the believer to relate to God by prayer, Scripture reading and liturgical practices of the Anglican Church. This means that the Holy Spirit is also at work in the souls of Anglicans with the life of Faith, Hope and Love because they are members of Christ's body, even if lacking the full realization and incorporation into Christ's Kingdom on Earth, the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, some Anglican Churches have begun to ordain women which presents another obstacle with reunion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Christ's Cosmic Kingdom